Trauma-informed therapy for adults who keep ending up in the same relational patterns, feel anxious or shut down in closeness, or are tired of understanding their story without feeling any different.
Sessions are by telehealth across Florida, Colorado and PSYPACT states, in English y español.
Reviews were shared voluntarily by clients on my website, with names withheld for privacy. Every person's experience is their own and doesn't predict your results.
No jargon required, here's what each piece means and what it can look like in session.
Why you love the way you love.
Our earliest relationships shape what feels "normal" in closeness, whether that's clinging, pulling away, people-pleasing, or bracing for the other shoe to drop, and while these patterns once made a lot of sense, they can change.
Your nervous system isn't broken, it's protecting you.
Anxiety, shutdown, and irritability are often your body's survival settings rather than character flaws, so together we learn to read those states and build more access to calm and connection. This draws on polyvagal theory, a way of understanding how the nervous system shifts between feeling safe, fight-or-flight, and shutting down.
Your body keeps part of the story.
Sometimes insight isn't enough on its own, so somatic work brings attention to breath, posture, tension, and sensation, helping change take root in your body as well as in your thinking.
For memories that still feel like they're happening.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It's a structured, well-researched therapy for trauma and painful memories, and it doesn't require you to talk through every detail.
It uses bilateral stimulation, like eye movements, taps, or tones, while you briefly hold a difficult memory in mind, and for many people the memory loses some of its emotional charge as old beliefs like "I'm not enough" start to loosen.
About the labels: EMDR is recommended for PTSD by major treatment guidelines and attachment theory rests on decades of developmental research, while polyvagal theory and somatic approaches are useful clinical frameworks with emerging research, some of whose biological claims are still debated. I'm upfront about that, and results always vary from person to person.
Most of us were hurt in relationship, and I believe a lot of healing can happen in relationship too.
I left large hospital systems because I wanted to offer the kind of care I'd want for myself: unhurried, human, and focused on the whole person, mind and body.
With hope, Dr. Jess 🐅
I'm trained to look at how biology, relationships, and life circumstances interact, so I consider all of you, not just a symptom checklist.
Talking helps, and pairing it with nervous-system and memory work often helps that change stick.
From hospital trauma care to eating disorder treatment to the VA, I've sat with a lot, so your story won't scare me.
Sessions in English or Spanish, with room for the family and cultural layers that shape how you attach.
See if we're a good fit before you commit to anything.
We map your history, goals and nervous-system patterns, and build a plan together.
Weekly to start for most people, then we adjust as you grow.
A small group blending attachment and nervous-system work, and joining the free tools list means you'll hear first when it opens.
Psychological evaluations are $200 per hour, and we can talk in your consult about whether one fits what you need.
Talks for teams, schools and communities on stress, connection, and the nervous system, booked by emailing hello@drjessalpizar.com.
Outside the therapy room, I co-founded Unwell Wellness Club with my friend Valentina, a fitness and movement expert. It's a Miami community where small-group events bring together nervous system work, movement, and real connection, because healing tends to go further when you're not doing it alone.
Wild & Regulated
Unwell Wellness Club is a community and educational space, not therapy, and attending events doesn't create a psychologist-client relationship.
Adults, most often in their mid-20s through 50s, who are dealing with relationship patterns, anxiety, trauma, burnout, or big life changes. If you need crisis care or a higher level of support, I'm not the right fit, but I'll help you find someone who is.
All sessions are telehealth, and I can see clients located in Florida as well as self-pay clients in Colorado and other PSYPACT states, as long as you're physically in an eligible state during each session.
When a spot opens, I reach out to people in the order they joined who fit the opening by state, schedule, and payment, and you can say yes, wait for the next one, or ask to be removed any time.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy that helps your brain reprocess memories that still feel stuck. While you briefly bring a memory to mind, you follow back-and-forth eye movements, taps or tones, and for many people the memory starts to feel less intense and more in the past. We always prepare first, and you stay in control the whole time.
No, every part of this work is optional and collaborative, so we pick what fits you and you can pause or change course at any point.
It depends on what you're working on, since some people notice shifts within a few months while deeper relational patterns usually take longer, and we'll check in on your progress together along the way.
Yes, within the limits of the law, such as imminent risk of harm or suspected abuse of a child or vulnerable adult, and we'll review this in detail before we begin, when you'll also receive my Notice of Privacy Practices.