Healing Takes Time: Jen Salk's Therapy Journey | Jen Salk

At age 12, she lost her father and stuffed every feeling away for decades. Jen Salk—mom, entrepreneur, and fellow Floridian—joins Dara Levan to share her powerful healing journey from childhood trauma to self-love. Growing up in Highland Park, Illinois, Jen experienced the traumatic illness and death of her father when she was just 12, along with her mother's health struggles. She spent years trying to find the right therapist—at least 10 attempts—before finally connecting with someone who could help her do the real work at age 47. Jen opens up about her abandonment wound, her journey from people pleaser to self-advocate, and the sensory toolbox she built to manage anxiety and overwhelming feelings. She shares practical tools including pink post-it notes with affirmations, self-talk, sensory items, playlists, and even bubbles for deep breathing. Her message? Healing is not linear—it's a roller coaster—but it's worth every uncomfortable moment.


Keywords: Jen Salk, healing, childhood trauma, therapy, self-love, abandonment wound, anxiety, people pleaser, sensory tools, affirmations, grief, father loss.

0:00 - Intro
3:33 - Father's illness & passing at age 12
6:22 - Therapy struggles & not giving up
8:37 - Finding right therapist at 47
9:49 - Real work happens between sessions
13:52 - Stop thinking, start feeling
15:55 - People pleasing & abandonment wound
18:43 - Self-talk & affirmations
20:43 - Sensory toolbox for anxiety
21:43 - Fear of being forgotten
22:40 - Spouse support & therapy
24:59 - Healing is a roller coaster
25:53 - Where to find Jen Salk
26:15 – Outro

• https://www.instagram.com/dara.levan/
• Website: daralevan.com3
https://jensalk.com/

QUOTES:
"Healing is not like that—it's like this. It's definitely a roller coaster. Something could trigger you and set you back, but don't give up. It's so worth it." – Jen Salk

"The feelings in themselves can be so scary to just even experience, but yet if you don't experience them, they're going to just sit there dormant and then you're going to grow something in your body."
– Dara Levan