Today we’d like to introduce you to Dora Jurisic.
Hi Dora, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
If I had to point out what events in my life lead me down this path of becoming a family and marriage therapist, they would definitely be: growing up during the war in Balkans, having a childhood acting career, going through the Croatian educational system (which forces you to take 17 classes each year in high school, oh boy), and experience working in mediation.
Growing up in Croatia during the war, I was confronted with people’s motivations from a very early age. I figured out pretty early on that people conceptualize the world differently from each other, and I spent a lot of time wondering how and why that is. I wanted to understand what drives people to do what they do, particularly when it comes to ways that they treat each other. Growing up as a child actor and dancer, I was challenged to actually become a character rather than just play them. In order to do that, I really had to understand that character’s inner world: who they are, why they are that way, their thoughts and feelings, and motivations, their fears and desires. Having this understanding of their inner world allowed me to better understand their undertakings and to have empathy for characters whose actions were sometimes harder to understand. These characters are often portrayed as “bad” in a “black and white” fashion, but they’re actually complex on the inside–just like we all are as humans.
When I started learning psychology in high school, I began to realize that really, we all make sense of the world around us through stories. We experience the world through this interesting kind of storytelling lens that informs our inner worlds and, eventually, how we think, behave, and interact with others. Based on the relationship we had with our primary caregivers, we develop relationships with ourselves. How our primary caregivers showed up or didn’t show up for us will influence the way we see ourselves (worthy of being loved, good enough, etc).
Through stories, we make sense of our experience and what is going on around us. But those stories aren’t usually realistic–they can be pretty biased. And often, someone has to be the bad guy or a problem in the story! It’s either us, the other person, or the relationship itself. As we are healing through our relationship with others, we are healing that relationship with ourselves, and, in return, that very biased narrative is shifting to a more realistic reflection of our lived experience. That’s when we can see our own part in the story, which gives us agency over our lives. We can then tell how we have contributed to our own reality, what is in our control, and how we wish to change it (and then do the work!).
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Finding my footing as a therapist has been anything but smooth! I moved to the States by myself at the age of 18 without knowing anybody here. So, as you can imagine–my life in this country has been a rollercoaster with a lot of chaos and unknown. I started this journey working with kids and families, and that inspired my interest in relational work between parents and children, and then eventually parents themselves… which then led me to my work in mediation. Working in mediation felt almost right, but left me with a strong desire to help save the marriages I was helping to dissolve. What was really missing for me while doing mediation was having clients connect with each other on a deeper level by entering their partners’ inner worlds, so they can be curious and not judgmental about each other’s lived experiences. With that in mind, I finally figured out that I am better suited to be a therapist…
As far as those turns in the road here, I really do believe each of them has informed the therapist I’ve become. I love getting to help couples find ways to heal together through their relationship and really getting to see the impact that this has as we continue to work together.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work as a psychotherapist, and my private practice is located in the South Bay. In my work, I focus on healing through relationships, whether those are the relationships we have with ourselves, the relationships we have with others, or the relationships we have with the world around us. With that being said, I treat both couples and individuals.
I call it as I see it, and I’ll tell you exactly what I think. I’m really straightforward and direct as a therapist (or a person for that matter), with a lot of compassion and humor. I do move fast with clients and want to dig deep to the core of who they really are so they can figure out who they want to be and do the work to remove what stands in the way. Of course, especially in my work with individual therapy clients, I tailor this approach to the needs of each client—some of them do need some more time or a bit of a gentler approach–but all in all, I’m pretty clear on what I see going on and how we can work together to improve. My approach tends to work really well with couples since it’s important to have a clear plan as to what has to change for both parties to get their needs met and have more fulfilling relationships.
While I know many therapists come from a systemic perspective, a lot of them focus nearly exclusively on working with individuals. Individual therapy work is the focus of most grad schools, with very limited education and training on how to do couples therapy. I find it to be very sad, and it also puts therapists in a situation where, if they want to work with couples effectively, they have to seek extra training. It’s important to me to put in that work, and to keep learning about how we can effectively do couple’s therapy.
I don’t believe in using exclusively one therapeutic modality in working with couples, but I have done a lot of extra education and training in couples’ work, allowing me to provide deeper, more tangible strategies for the couples I work with. I mainly draw from Imago Relationship Therapy, Encounter Centered Couples Therapy, and Relational Life Therapy approaches.
My personal belief is that, while a lot of healing can happen in individual work through the relationship with yourself and with the therapist, and getting the insight is the first step to change, the relational healing in couples therapy is where it is at because we are wounded in relationships and we can be healed in relationships!
What are your plans for the future?
I’ve come to a place where I really love the work that I do and am really happy with the couples I get to work with. I feel like we get to make lasting changes in the work we do together, and I’m so happy to see these relationships grow and thrive.
I’m starting to offer couples intensives! I’ve noticed that many couples who are reaching out for therapy often want to make a lot of progress quickly, want to connect on a deeper level, or want to dip their toes in the water together before deciding how to proceed with therapy or relationship. Research shows that spending longer hours over the course of two days can be more beneficial than spreading those same hours over the course of a few months.
I am really excited to offer them in a weekend format, 8 hours each day. And what is more exciting, the work won’t be centered around resolving conflict and teaching communication (although we will be learning nonviolent communication skills), but it will be focused on getting the insight and healing their relational wounds by giving them new corrective experiences.
Pricing:
- Individual therapy
- 50 min= 225$
- Couples therapy
- 60 min= 250$
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dorajurisic.com
- Instagram: phone number: 626-514-0745
