Therapist Spotlight: Jess on the Power of Connection and Disability Affirming Care

Meet Jess Cummings, a mental health counselor whose journey from special education teacher to therapist was sparked by witnessing unmet needs in her students. Now practicing with CFFD, Jess, who was born and raised here in Spokane, brings a unique perspective to counseling. Jess has been blind since infancy. Her lived experience of blindness, her diverse life experiences, and her academic training and use of disability affirming therapy closely shape her counseling approach. With two master's degrees and a background that spans music education, special education, and mental health counseling, Jess creates therapeutic spaces where clients can truly be themselves. In this interview, she shares insights about breaking down barriers, the power of human connection, and why she believes the counseling room should be the client's space to lead. Oh, and we can’t forget to introduce Polly, Jess’ six year old seeing eye dog. If you see Jess, you’ll certainly have the opportunity to meet Polly. We're biased, but Polly might be one of the sweetest dogs in town.

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What inspired you to become a mental health counselor?

My path to counseling began in the classroom. I was a special education teacher in Tacoma, working with children and adolescents with visual impairments for five years. During that time, I witnessed so many unmet mental health needs in my students, and I didn't have the resources to know who to refer them to. Later, when I worked at the Lighthouse for the Blind in Spokane teaching braille, I saw the same unmet needs in the adult population. That's when I knew we needed more people doing this work, so I decided to join the ranks. I wanted to be in the trenches with people facing these mental health challenges.

Jess and her seeing eye dog Polly

What’s a fun fact about you that people might not know?

My undergraduate degree is actually in choral music education. I was a student teacher in Vancouver, teaching elementary music for a semester, which was super fun. But it seems like ages ago!

What mental health challenges might people with disabilities face that others don't?

First, it's crucial to understand that not everyone with a disability who is seeking mental health services is doing so because of their disability. You could have depression and happen to use a wheelchair, or be recovering from trauma and happen to be blind. When I was a teacher, I'd have students losing vision due to progressive conditions, and the school's response would be dismissive: "Well, of course she's depressed, she's going blind. I'd be anxious too." And they'd just leave it at that. I found that approach fundamentally wrong. Sometimes therapists won’t stop talking about a client’s disability. They need to pay more attention to what people are actually coming to therapy for. 

However, there are three major areas I focus on that can significantly impact mental health for people with disabilities:

• Access is the most obvious barrier. Not just physical access to buildings, but, for example, access to providers who can work with people with intellectual disabilities, online processes that are screen reader accessible, or staff willing to complete intake forms verbally with blind clients.

• Isolation is perhaps the biggest threat to the disabled community's mental health. I frequently encourage clients to find their community—people who are navigating life in similar ways. While people with disabilities want to connect with all kinds of people, there's an authentic, unique connection that can happen when you're with others who understand your experience.

• Microaggressions cause significant wear and tear. These are often unintentional comments that reinforce power and privilege dynamics. These accumulate and can wear a person down.

What do you want clients to know before starting counseling?

The counseling space is their time and their space. I follow the client's lead because I'm fully conscious that processing and expressing feelings looks different for everyone. I'm open to all modes of expression—talk, play, art, music—whatever feels right for that person.

How do you help anxious, first-time clients feel comfortable?

I'm naturally laid-back, which helps put people at ease. I have a basket of fidgets immediately accessible when you walk into my office. People find comfort in having something to do with their hands while they think. I also come to each session with a plan, but I wait until the client is in the room to decide if that's the plan we'll use. If someone's feeling anxious, we might skip the plan for the day and play a game or focus on building rapport. If they're ready for serious exploration, that's what we'll do.

What's your favorite mental wellness tip?

Human connection. It's grounding and uplifting. Find your people. It gets you out of your head. Even a brief conversation with someone can completely reboot your thinking and lift you out of a mental rut. I especially work with adolescents on this. They often want to isolate in their rooms, so I'll challenge them: “Next week, have something to say about your family. Spend enough time with them that you know what's going on in their lives." People need people.

How might social media play into these connections?

I think it can give people a sense of validation, but it’s not the same thing as talking to somebody who really gets what you're saying at that moment. It’s not the same as a face-to-face interaction with a human. I really value that so highly.

What areas of specialization are you growing into?

My passion lies in disability-affirmative therapy and neuro-affirming therapy. Disability-affirmative therapy isn't a methodology like cognitive behavioral therapy, it's a framework for conceptualizing a person’s experience that takes aspects of disability that are stigmatized and normalizes them as integrated parts of a person's identity. For example, I recently found some therapy dolls with adaptive equipment. Having and using these types of dolls, for example, is disability affirming. Similarly, with neuro-affirming therapy, I don't work to teach neurodivergent clients to act neurotypical. Instead, I help them discover their authentic needs and strategies that work for who they fundamentally are, without trying to change them.

What's most rewarding about being a counselor?

It's such a privilege to join alongside kids, adolescents, young adults, and families to hear their stories and be someone they choose to share with. I joined this profession because I wanted to be in the trenches with people going through mental health challenges, and that's exactly what this work allows me to do.

Reach out to the Center for Family Development here to schedule an appointment with Jess (and Polly) or any of the other therapists at CFFD.