Jason Jones, MSW

Supervisee in Social Work

I specialize in working with individuals, typically aged 18-65, and couples on topics that do not always get the focused attention they deserve: relationship issues, men and men’s issues, sex and sexual harm, and college/university-related stressors. In therapy, I understand the importance of meeting people where they are with clear communication and mutual respect. My academic work, both in leadership roles and in teaching sexual health and harm, informs my clinical work through a combination of somatic processing (e.g., how stress shows up physically in our bodies) and skill-building to navigate life (e.g., setting boundaries, communication around intimacy, and stress management). 

• Working with individuals and couples on these topics is different for everyone because there are many nuances housed within each of these life experiences:

  • Relationship dynamics: communication breakdown, cycles of criticism and/or feeling unappreciated, emotional and physical intimacy, and life transitions such as parenthood or death of a loved one;

  • Men and men’s issues: depression, grief and loss, interpersonal relationships, isolation, stress management, and professional transitions; 

  • Sex and sexual health: intimacy, pleasure, sexual dysfunction, direct and indirect experiences of harm/trauma, sex after pregnancy, and self-image;

  • University-related stressors for faculty, leaders, staff, and both graduate and undergraduate students: stress management, burnout, professional stagnation, imposter syndrome, and navigating academic-family dynamics; 

• My approach to therapy is built on attachment science and integrates a variety of modalities, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness. Prior to shifting to private practice, I practiced at Region 10’s Wellness Recovery Center, a short-term residential crisis stabilization program.

• I decided to become a therapist after a career as an administrator and professor at the University of Virginia in order to work clinically with issues I kept finding in my research and academic work with students, faculty, and staff: isolation, anxiety, burnout, stress, questions as well as challenges involving sexual health, sexual harm, and difficulties with both personal and professional relationships. My scholarship covers a range of topics, including student success, learning, mindfulness and yoga, sexual harm, and wellbeing both in and outside the classroom. I have taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the School of Education and Human Development, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the College of Arts and Sciences. I also held leadership positions in the School of Engineering, Contemplative Sciences Center, and Student Affairs. I continue to teach in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia as part of the Rugby Project, an initiative between the Inter-Fraternity Council and the Maxine Platzer Lynn’s Women’s Center.

• I am a Supervisee in Social Work practicing under the supervision of Ken Horne, LCSW, Virginia License #0904007256. I earned my MSW from the University of Michigan, a PhD in Higher Education with a focus on student learning and development from the University of Virginia (UVA), an MA in Religious Studies with a focus on Buddhism from UVA, a Master’s of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Religion from Sewanee (The University of the South).

Jason can be reached directly at Email: jsjonestherapy@gmail.com