Jennifer Musselman, M.A., M.F.T.i has seen it all, and what she hasn't seen, she's pretty sure will walk through her door any minute now. But as a second-career Marriage & Family Therapist (IMF 70103)*, Musselman's life is a testament of facing her own fears and LIVING her life as she see fits. Instead of buying a Porsche or adopting a Russian child, Musselman plunged head-first into graduate school for her mid-life crisis. Out of it came her life's calling. Her simple, bold, clear-thinking approach to life's challenges is executed with finesse and nerve in her therapy practice and has quickly earned her a reputation in the field of Psychology. Her insights are chronicled on PsychologyToday.com where she is an expert blogger, writing about relationships, male-female dynamics, depression, addiction, and everyday BS we tell ourselves to justify our behaviors. "It boggles my mind that we are taught math, science and English as bare necessities in school and that we are expected to just know how to relate to others in love, work and friendship because we are humans," says Musselman of her work in Psychology. "Social-emotional intelligence is not just innate - as evidenced in the high number of divorce, addiction and workplace turn-over. Unlike basic principles of math or grammar, we weren't all taught the same relational language. We have to learn it."
In addition to her private practice, Musselman works as an individual and group psychotherapist and Director of Conscious Recovery by CLARE Foundation in Santa Monica, California. As Director, Musselman created and oversees the program treatment services, manages facilities and operations and is in-charge of business development and public relations strategies for people seeking treatment from drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. Musselman's work is noted for her gender-specific style of therapy. She will be featured as a presenter at the May 2013 California Marriage & Family Therapy state-wide conference to "Mars & Venus in Addiction: The Dangers of Ignoring Gender Differences in Substance Abuse Treatment," with her colleague Matthew Healy, LMFT.
Jennifer's background as an entertainment executive has made her well-equipped to handle a myriad of issues, especially substance abuse addiction and personality concerns. She served as Sr. Director, Communications at MTV Networks' Kids and Family Entertainment, Nickelodeon, before returning to school to earn her Masters in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. Musselman is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California and Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, where she teaches Public Relations Strategy and Campaign Analysis.
In addition to using her entertainment communication expertise to see through excuses and spin with hawk-like precision, Musselman enjoys drawing parallels and understanding "connections" and "perceptions" on an individual to mass-market level. Partnering her unique insight of men and women with her communications background, she develops relationship-branding and community-engagement services for businesses. Her three published books - The Hip Girl's Handbook for Home, Car & Money Stuff; The Hip Girl's Handbook for the Working World; and Own It! The Ups and Downs of Homebuying for Women Who Go It Alone - were born out of her personal experience conquering life's challenges.
