Jacob is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker whose approach to working with adolescents and adults navigating mental health obstacles and substance use is as much informed by his Master of Social Work from Rutgers University as it is a fundamental belief that a contented life takes shape as we come to understand and treat ourselves with more kindness than we did the day before—a process that cannot be rushed. Fittingly, his therapeutic style is distinctly compassionate and member-paced. Whether serving as a sounding board, offering solution-based practices, or simply but powerfully recognizing suffering as very real yet temporary, Jacob intentionally leans away from forcefully influencing and toward gently inviting members to explore a deeper self-understanding that awakens a newfound comfort living in their full, authentic selves.

Appreciating that, for many, opening up is accompanied by a certain element of fear, he often shares his own experience in coming to regard fear and love as two sides of the same coin. He reinforces that perspective by creating a space where the risk of judgment and shame almost naturally fade into the background, refocusing the foreground on something deeply healing about being celebrated for exactly—and all of—who we are.

Both professionally and personally, Jacob sees himself as a constant work in progress. He is continually growing alongside his members, and he genuinely values the shared humanity that exists within therapeutic relationships at The Living Room, where members and staff alike are encouraged to come as they are. Believing that everyone deserves to feel cared for, respected and welcomed, he hopes to help members uncover new possibilities at any age, despite any circumstance—even within limitations that may once have felt permanent.