Mark Jensen

My name is Mark Jensen. I prefer to be called Mark. I have a doctorate in clinical psychology, and I have many years of experience. While most of my work is/has been from a cognitive and behavioral framework, I am not foreign to family systems and to a lesser degree psychoanalytic perspectives. I live in San Francisco's North Bay region, and I now practice statewide via telehealth on this platform. I love playing the piano, exercising, reading, and gardening. I am a perpetual student of mostly history or literature.

My approach

I am rather eclectic in my approach to therapy. I like to start where the client is. I typically view clients through a lens I call the "intrapsychic" core, assessing and applying more psychoanalytic or ego psychology methods. From there I move outward to a more cognitive/behavioral level, where I can apply cognitive and behavioral techniques and interventions. Finally and further out still, I move to systems work (more useful for couples and families) and any community or collateral areas of a person's life where further intervention can occur. Thus I will employ techniques from any of these perspectives as is fitting to the client's needs. I make referrals for medication or community resources if that seems appropriate.

My focus

I received my doctorate from the University of Denver's PsyD program. My internship was at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, Texas with additional consortium training at MD Anderson Hospital and the Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences (TRIMS). I have worked with children and families as a school psychologist in local communities and also as a clinical psychologist with the State of California doing diagnostic assessments. I worked at Kaiser Medical Center as the liaison between the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Infectious Diseases where the focus of my work was with the terminally ill. I have also worked in private industry through the AON Corporation as a management consultant and with the local legal system as an expert witness on stress and PTSD. Most of my work, consequently, has been in death, dying, HIV, grief, depression, PTSD, stress, anxiety, and systems and couples work. I also have worked extensively with the LGBTQ community.

My communication style

As a result of my work with the terminally ill, my style is very interactive and open. I don't sit back. I am very responsive. I tend to be interactive in nature, but I also am a good listener and thoughtful in my responses.

My journey to mental healthcare

I knew I wanted to be a therapist when I was in second grade. I had many dreams about doing the work, and I felt that it was well suited to me. I always had a fascination with things of a psychological or spiritual nature and these bloomed over the years. Eventually I found myself excited by studying psychology as an undergraduate. By the time I was in graduate school, I knew I had found myself where I always thought I should be.

My goals for you

I typically do a more formal intake with a series of questions related to why the person seeks assistance at the time and to hear their story (ies), in their own words, regarding what happened or why things came to be the way they are. It is also a time to get to know one another and observe our styles and ways of interaction, building rapport along the way in an effort to determine how well we might work together. After all, it is well known that the single most important element in the outcome of psychotherapy is the relationship you have with your therapist.

My first session with you

My first three sessions are ones that I typically use to get a feel for the client. This obviously includes an assessment necessary for the requisite diagnosis. But more importantly, I listen to the individual's concerns and how they impact him/her, while I evaluate the strengths and vulnerabilities with which they present and then craft from there an intervention, sometimes with the client's collaboration, that might best work for the individual. Together we then determine the course of our work and its effectiveness.