Jessica Kumar, PhD

Training: Dr. Jessica Kumar earned her degree in Clinical-Community Psychology from Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center and her Postdoctoral Fellowship at Genesee Valley Institute of Psychology specializing in PTSD and OCD treatment.

Clinical Expertise: Dr. Kumar has trained in multiple clinical settings (e.g., hospitals, university clinics, intensive outpatient programs, veterans affairs centers), which provided opportunities to work with people with a wide range of intersecting identities and presenting concerns. Trauma is Dr. Kumar’s primary clinical interest; she has advanced training in several evidence-based treatments for PTSD including Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Written Exposure Therapy (WET). Dr. Kumar also has expertise in treating depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders including OCD, and substance use disorders using a range of approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Additionally, she has experience working with couples to address relationship challenges and increase relationship satisfaction using Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) and Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT).

At GVP Dr. Kumar provides Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Written Exposure Therapy (WET), CBT for anxiety and depression, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Approach: Dr. Kumar is passionate about working collaboratively with her clients to help them move toward the things that matter most to them. She values adapting evidence-based treatments to fit each client’s personal goals. Dr. Kumar strives to create a supportive environment in the therapy room to facilitate vulnerability and authentic connection. She considers it a privilege to both sit with clients in their pain and walk alongside them in their healing.

Diversity & Inclusion: Dr. Kumar recognizes that every client exists in a variety of contexts outside the therapy room and that these contexts often impact their mental health and how they experience therapy. She seeks to understand each person’s intersecting identities and prioritizes listening to clients’ perspectives. Dr. Kumar acknowledges that lifelong learning is essential to do these things effectively; she engages in ongoing self-reflection to increase awareness of her privilege and unconscious bias while simultaneously seeking to learn from others with identities different from her own.

Research: Dr. Kumar’s research focuses on refugee and immigrant health. She primarily uses qualitative methods to empower participants to share their own lived experiences of contextual factors that influence their health and well-being. For example, her previous research has explored topics such as the function of community resilience in refugees’ post-migration adaptation process, the impact of immigration policy changes on Latinx families’ well-being, and the role of multiple marginalized identity intersections in refugee women’s experiences of discrimination.

Ages: Dr. Kumar treats adults and couples.