Meet Jen

People often describe me as warm, open, and curious—with a mix of kindness and directness that makes even the hardest conversations feel a little less scary. I’ve been told I’m a champion for change, someone who isn’t afraid to sit with you in the dark while also helping you believe there’s light ahead.

I didn’t always imagine myself as a therapist.

In fact, I started in a very different career—one that slowly made me sick. I thought something was physically wrong with me, but what I eventually discovered was that I was deeply disconnected from myself, my body, and my life.

Depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and disordered eating were all signals pointing me toward something deeper. Healing for me began when I started to reconnect with my own truth, and that personal transformation changed everything. I knew then that I wanted to dedicate my life to helping others find their way back home to themselves.

That’s how Nourished Energy was born. At first, my focus was helping people step out of diet culture and into a more trusting relationship with their bodies. But it didn’t take long for me to see that so many struggles—whether with food, body image, anxiety, or relationships—were rooted in old hurts that hadn’t yet healed. I realized talk therapy alone wasn’t enough. I wanted to bring the mind, body, and heart into the room together. That’s when I dove into advanced training in approaches that honor the whole person.

“Having supervised Jen, I can say with confidence that she practices from the heart. She engages her clients in the depths and complexity of their humanity with insightful care and palpable compassion. I trust Jen to be able to meet her clients where they are and help them experience healing.”
Bryan Nixon, MA, LPC Founder & Psychotherapist at Mindful Counseling GR

My Approach

As my work grew, I realized I wanted to be fluent in many ways of helping people heal. That curiosity led me to train in EMDR, Internal Family Systems (parts work), and NeuroAffective Touch®—all powerful tools that help us work with the body, the mind, and the hidden stories we carry. More recently, I added the NeuroAffective Relational Model™ (NARM®) to my toolkit, completing advanced training as a NARM® Master Therapist. Each of these approaches offers something unique, and together they give us different doorways into healing.

But here’s the truth: no model or technique heals on its own. What matters most is the relationship we build. My job is to show up fully—curious, compassionate, and present—so you feel safe enough to show up fully too. From there, the real work of therapy begins. As Jon Frederickson says: “Models don’t heal patients. Relationships do.” I couldn’t agree more.

What It’s Like to Work With Me

Therapy with me isn’t about quick fixes or surface-level coping skills. It’s about creating a safe and steady relationship where you can bring all of yourself—your doubts, your brilliance, your hidden pain—and know you’ll be met with care. I’ll ask questions that might stir something inside you, but I’ll also be right there with softness and compassion as you explore your answers.

My clients often come to me after trying other kinds of therapy that didn’t quite reach the depth they needed. They’re ready to go further, and I’m ready to go there with them. We may laugh together, we may sit in silence together, and sometimes we’ll wrestle with things that feel hard. Through it all, my commitment is to walk beside you as you reconnect with yourself and step into the life you want to live.

“The spontaneous movement in all of us is toward connection, health, and aliveness. No matter how withdrawn and isolated we have become, or how serious the trauma we have experienced, on the deepest level, just as a plant spontaneously moves toward sunlight, there is in each of us an impulse moving toward connection and healing. This organismic impulse is the fuel of the NARM approach.”

—Laurence Heller, PhD and Aline LaPierre, PsyD

Education:

Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral Science
Master of Arts Degree in Professional Counseling

License & Certifications:

Training Highlights:

  • Somatic & Attachment Focused Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Natural Processing Integrating Somatic Psychotherapy with EMDR
  • NeuroAffective Touch®
  • AEDP™
  • Internal Family Systems
  • Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy
  • Holistic Counseling
  • Intensive Short Term Dynamic Therapy ISTDP
  • Gottman Method Couples Therapy
  • Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy 

Associations:

Board Member:

Michigan Eating Disorders Alliance: advocating for eating disorder prevention and awareness.

Former Volunteer:

Women’s Resource Center: mentoring and supporting women in career transition.

Beyond the Therapy Room

Connection isn’t just something I practice in my office—it’s something I live. You’ll often find me traveling or going on adventures with family and friends, dancing at live shows, swimming in open water, or hiking in the woods. I love trying new foods, I love music, and I really love dogs. To me, they’re some of the best teachers we have when it comes to pure joy and presence.

Trauma Certification CCTP

 

Reach Me

Jennifer DiGennaro MA LPC
1324 Lake Drive Suite 8
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506

Tel: 616.446.6728
E-mail: Jen@NourishedEnergy.com

Schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation with Jen