Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Nodelman
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My South Florida story began in 2015, when my life partner and I relocated from New England to Fort Lauderdale. We moved here in search of a change, partially sparked by my partner having a business opportunity requiring a geographic move to the Miami area. At the time, I was deeply rooted in both non-profit volunteer work for various organizations in Connecticut, while making a living as the VP of Operations for a discrete manufacturing firm. Up until that point, my career had consisted of the operations role and a prior administrative role in a private equity firm. In addition, I spent considerable time as a hobbyist photographer and showed my work at various art shows and in some galleries.
I received my undergraduate degree from Boston University, in Psychology, in the late 90s. I had seriously considered moving on to graduate school in 1998 but, at the time, jobs were abundant and life played out with a semblance of stability over the next 18 years. After relocating to South Florida, my career took an unanticipated change when I was abruptly let go in a restructuring. In tandem with turning 40, I had an all on mid-life crisis and was left scratching my head, in a new city, having no connections, wondering what to do. I interviewed for a few jobs in the Miami area and it quickly became apparent my heart and head were not in it. I spent the next 1-1/2 years resetting, soul searching, travelling a bit and crafting a plan to move into the next phase of my career.
I revisited my original plan from 1998 and enrolled in graduate school to pursue my Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work. It made sense. It was a path forward that would allow me to combine my capacity for operations management with my love of giving back to those who need a hand. Up until that point, I had been volunteering and giving back to my community for as long as I can remember–in one capacity or another. In 2018 I graduated with my MSW from Barry University. During that program I was required to complete graduate internship hours. Through the internship program I started to see that the practice of Clinical Social Work, specifically psychotherapy through a trauma-informed lens, aligned with my personality. I acquired initial experience as an intern psychotherapist for an agency in Wilton Manors. From the first client I felt at ease–I knew I had found my next calling. The feedback from my clients was the same. I went on to complete the FL Department of Health requirements to become independently licensed as a LCSW/Psychotherapist while employed in another Fort Lauderdale based agency. In late 2020, I started my practice.
During my path to independent licensure and practice, I started to see how many mental health diagnoses are rooted in traumas that either have not been adequately addressed or, have not been acknowledged. I worked with clients who had been stuck in a healthcare system that, although well-meaning, had not helped and, in fact, labeled clients with ever more severe diagnoses with each passing year; not addressing the root issues. As a result, I saw many clinicians and clients become cogs in a system that rarely allowed for time or space to fully address issues. I quickly started to burn out and knew I wanted to do it differently.
I felt confident based on the feedback from clients and other peers that if I combined my background in business with my insight and newfound passion for psychotherapy, I would be able to start a private practice that would allow my clients to address their traumatic past at the root of their mental health concerns.
Nodelman Counseling & Psychotherapy is a solo practice in Wilton Manors. I primarily works with high-achieving professionals and those seeking therapy for having witnessed or survived one or more traumatic incidents. My tagline is that my clients are seeking to shift unhelpful patterns & discover their limitless potential.
I am EMDR-Certified and offer many other trauma-informed interventions, such as Ego-State therapy, Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy (DNMS), Brainspotting and more. My approach is eclectic and I often infuse my background in business, clinical social work and more traditional psychotherapy into a solutions-focused approach aimed at assisting clients in reprocessing and finally metabolizing trauma memories.
I have a passion for working with adults with PTSD and it warms my heart when a client leaves our therapy engagements able to live their life without symptoms of PTSD. As the practice has now been active for over 3 years it is evolving and changing and has started to see a greater volume of high-profile individuals reaching out from varying industries. It is evident that mental health does not discriminate.
I am also independently licensed and provide remote services throughout Florida, Virginia and Washington DC and also offer EMDR Consulting to other EMDR trained psychotherapists seeking certification. I spend a lot of my free time back in my photography hobby, mainly street photography. My photography can be seen at www.JMNPhoto.com.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Doing what I do for a living I see and understand that all humans have struggles and challenges to varying degrees.
From the outside, humans seem to be primed to look at others’ accomplishments and see only their successes, not fully understanding the peaks, valleys and efforts it takes to get “successful.” I recognize I have been offered many privileges in my life by nature of gender, race and where I was born. I struggled with serious learning differences growing up that at times led to despair. I also immigrated to the United States at 10 years old from Canada. Though from our neighbor to the north, it was a shock and difficult to assimilate to the USA and I struggled to fit in.
I was met with having to re-invent my professional life at 40 years old. This was a huge challenge and there were moments where I honestly thought it would be easier quitting than navigating the obstacles. One of the reasons I am proud to call myself a Clinical Social Worker is that I understand that struggles lead to resiliency and with resiliency humans can do great things. My role today is to guide my clients through their challenges.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Nodelman Counseling & Psychotherapy, LLC?
My psychotherapy practice works primarly with high achievers who have fallen into a rut; or, who have lived through (or witnessed) dreadful events or betrayals relieve the burden of the memories, fears, negative self-beliefs and triggers. I am an EMDR-Certified clinician and specialize in assisting clients living with varying degrees of PTSD with EMDR and other modalities. In addition, I am continually upping my EMDR-game by offering other EMDR psychotherapists business and EMDR consulting towards their certification for EMDR. This affords me the opportunity to constantly learn and share the latest trends in trauma-focused therapy.
My therapy clients are adults from all backgrounds. My philosophy is to be collaborative by nature. I pull from my background in business operations and Clinical Social Work/Psychotherapy. From the first moment I meet a client, I see them functioning better, unburdened by what brought them into therapy. My mind is constantly conceptualizing how I will walk with the client on a path towards that point.
I also provide services to high-profile clients from a variety of industries. From Founders to C-Level Executives, other Psychotherapists, entrepreneurs, elected officials and those in entertainment industries. I’ve become known as a trusted confidant by these clients.
I also offer (and encourage) treatment collaboration with other healthcare professionals. Having a team approach goes a long way to expediting the process of improving mental healthcare.
I am licensed in Florida, Virginia and Washington DC. My office is in Wilton Manors (Fort Lauderdale).
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I have a memory of spending time with my paternal grandparents…I must have been 9-13 years old. I would spend time at their house and have faint memories of my grandfather always helping people from a home office during his retirement. I would see people come and go with binders and folders of paperwork. My grandmother would let them in and lead them into his office. As I got older I learned he was helping pensioners who could not obtain their pension obtain their lawful pensions. These were people who had no capacity to advocate on their own for their rightful retirement benefits. Looking back, I now see that advocating and assisting others is in my blood. I have fond memories of seeing people enter his office with a look of gloom and leave smiling, their papers in order.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.JNodelmanLCSW.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emdrandbrainspotting/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/jordannodelman
Image Credits
Not applicable
