Meet Jackie Hieber, M.A., LPC
You can feel safe and joyful and carefree again.
Therapist in-person in Harrisonburg & online across Virginia.
Here’s the thing: There’s no script for this.
No one taught you how to get through this. But you can still connect with the relationships and life that you want. You can feel like your old self again and not always feel like the assault is in the back of your mind. This doesn’t get to claim you.
There may not be a script for this, but there is a way through. Together we can help you find it.
How I Work:
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A standard therapy hour, focused on you.
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Trauma work and personal growth take time, and everyone goes at a different pace. Your sessions will go at your pace.
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You bring the expertise on your life and your goals. I bring knowledge about what helps heal trauma and create change. We’ll bring these together to detangle the unhelpful narratives you carry and create space for new stories and new meaning to emerge.
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We’ll pay attention to what rises in your body as well as where things sit in your thoughts and even unconsciously. It all shapes us, and it all helps move the work.
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Trauma healing, dating and relationships, and performance work all take us through the whole range of human emotions. It’s all on the therapy bingo card. We’ll expect it, invite it in, and welcome it when it comes.
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We’ll focus on stabilization, getting you through the initial stages of trauma recovery, and helping you understand your natural responses to trauma.
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We get to dive into the depths, exploring the unconscious patterns that have shaped you and helping you move closer to who you are and who you want to be.
What it’s like to work with me:
I’m not a book, or a TikTok therapist, or a podcast (though I can’t promise I won’t point you to a few of those)...
I’m also not your very well-meaning but (disappointingly) unhelpful friend or family member.
I know exactly where you are because I’ve sat in this moment for years with other people just like you.
I’m not just trained in trauma, I’ve actually been in the room with people only an hour or two after an assault. I’ve sat with them in the hospital or an exam room as they tried to make impossibly overwhelming decisions about what to do next. In Harrisonburg, I might know your victim advocate, the nurse who referred you, or the prosecutor or investigator on your case by name. And if you’re in the majority group of survivors who decided not to report or connect to any of those resources - if you’ve barely told another soul about what happened to you - I’ve also sat with hundreds of survivors just like you and helped them feel confident they made the choices that were right for them. From the immediate moments after and all the way through to the “other side of this”, I know these dark depths, and I know there’s a way through.
I also know how important it is to balance the hard stuff in life with the light. The figuring yourself out, the adventures, the relationships, the “what comes next”? That’s the joy. That’s what we’re here for. (Even when it frustrates us.) And that’s what we’ll pull you towards as you’re ready. That’s also why I work with performing artists (and love the stage myself) - the music, the story, the creativity, that’s one place we can find the richness in life. Wherever you end up finding yours, my role is to help you discover it and walk toward that path when you’re ready, trusting your inner wisdom to help you find what you seek.
I will sit with you in the hard stuff, and I’ll laugh with you when it’s right, too. Even the hardest parts in life can have a little light.
Specialties
Sexual Assault Survivors
Dating & Relationships
Performing Artists
Training & Experience
I’ve worked with adult survivors of sexual assault for nearly 15 years, as a therapist, a victim advocate, and a prevention specialist. I’ve spent my career sitting in hospital rooms, courthouses, Title IX proceedings, and therapy rooms, helping survivors find what they need next and know that their life is still in front of them. I have extensive training in sexual violence and sexual harassment, the neurobiology of trauma, nature- and body-based healing methods, depthwork and attachment lenses, and practical, real-life knowledge of the systems survivors encounter after sexual assault (criminal and campus-based reporting, restorative justice, medical concerns, support resources, and more).
Because I love what I do, I also teach what I do, regularly teaching counseling techniques and crisis and trauma coursework for our local graduate programs.
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M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling - Eastern Mennonite University
Licensed Professional Counselor - Virginia LPC #0701013435
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NOVA Credentialed Advocate (2014 - 2026) - Advanced Level (8+ years experience), Comprehensive Intervention Specialist
EMDR-trained
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD
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Adjunct Faculty - James Madison University’s Department of Graduate Psychology