Community Highlights: Meet Dr. Jacquelyn Harlan of Dr. Jacquelyn M. Harlan, LMFT

Thank you for having me back! My name is Dr. Jacquelyn Harlan and I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private paractice in Fountain Valley, CA. I have been married for 27yrs and I have two children – my son is 25yrs old and my daughter is 23 yrs old. When I’m not in the office, I love to travel, go to concerts and sporting events (go Angels and Cowboys!), I am a red belt in Muay Thai (which I had to pause when I was pursuing my latest degree, unfortunately), reading, and just relaxing in the sun.

I went back to school in 2003 – I was a married 21yr old with a 2yr old and a 6mo old. I had told my husband that our family would never take a backseat to school so when the prerequisite classes I needed for the nursing program at Cypress College weren’t available at the times I needed, I switched my major to Psychology and I have never regretted that decision. However, I was at Cypress College for a lot longer than I should have been. In addition to being a student, I was a server part-time at Outback Steakhouse, I was room mom for my kids classes, I was PTA president, and I was team mom for my son’s baseball teams.

In 2008, after 5yrs, I transferred to Chapman University to start my Bachelor’s degree. My first semester at Chapman was really difficult. In October 2008, my father was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and I became a caregiver for him, alongside my grandparents. He passed away in December 2008. Due to all of the support from my husband and kids, I was able to complete my classwork and graduate on time, in April 2010, with a Bachelor’s in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Work.

I stayed at Chapman University and went into the Master’s program in Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage & Family Therapy. I completed my internship hours at Outreach Concern in Buena Park and graduated with my Master’s in August 2012.I went straight into a doctoral program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP). In March 2013, I went on a 10day study abroad to London, England and received a certificate of training with work discussion groups at The Tavistock Centre. In December 2014, I went on another 10day study abroad to Athens, Greece and worked with trauma and torture refugees, as well as unaccompanied minors at METAction. In February 2016, I studied in Zurich, Switzerland for 10days at the C.G. Jung Institute and received a certificate of training in analytic theory. Finally, in September 2017, I went on another 10day study abroad to Paris, France and received a certificate in trauma and resiliency from the Centre Minkowski. These trips were only possible because my husband was so supportive of my education and the trainings that I knew would be helpful for my career. My doctorate program also took a lot longer than expected due to various issues in my personal life and not having a great experience with my dissertation chairs. However, I finally graduated with my Psy.D. in Applied Clinical Psychology in April 2020.

During my Psy.D. program, I was hired as a psychological assistant by an amazing Psychologist, Dr. Joan David. Dr. David was my clinical supervisor through my Master’s and Psy.D programs and I became a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in October 2015. I opened my own private practice in March 2016, while still working on my Psy.D.

In addition to running my own practice, in 2021, I was hired at the University of Massachusetts Global (UMass) and taught a Master’s class in their Marriage and Family Therapy program for one year.

I thought I was completely done with my education but I ended up going back to TCSPP in August 2023 for another Master’s degree and graduated with a Master’s in Psychopharmacology in April 2025.Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

There were many struggles along the way. When I first went back to school, I was very young (21yrs) with two small children (3yrs and 6mo). We didn’t have a lot of money or help from family or friends. My husband and I worked alternating schedules so our kids never needed a babysitter. There were times when we would have to meet in the Outback parking lot so he could get the kids as I was running into work, or I would be going to bed, after writing a paper all night, as he was getting up for work. We didn’t get much time together.

Additionally, within 18mo., my father, paternal grandfather, and maternal grandfather all passed away.Starting my private practice was an easy decision to make because it gave me the flexibility to be there for our kids. However, the first 2yrs were really difficult and my husband worked 2 full-time jobs to pay our bills since I wasn’t making very much money.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am a Licensed Marriage & Family therapist and I have a private practice in Fountain Valley, CA. In addition to seeing patients with anxiety, depressing, marital/couples issues, etc. I also treat patients suffering from PTSD and trauma. I utilize Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help patients process traumatic experiences. I find this so rewarding even though it is a very difficult treatment for most patients.

One thing that I hear a lot from my patients is that they know I truly care about them and their healing process. I think this is very apparent because most of my new patients are from referrals, which I am truly grateful for. I love that I still get texts and pictures from previous patients with their life updates!

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
A lot has changed in the field since I started out but I don’t think there’s anything that I would change about my journey. One thing I would share with new LMFTs and AMFTs is to manage their expectations with their client load, how much their earning potential is, how long it takes to really get your footing in this profession, and make sure your family is very supportive. There is no way I could have gotten the degrees I’ve gotten, gone on the study abroads that I have gone on, or gotten my practice to the point that it’s at without the love and support of my husband and kids. My kids would sit at the kitchen table and do homework with me, my husband would make sure we all were fed and the household chores were done, and there were things that our family sacrificed but none of them ever complained or asked me to quit pursuing my goals.I also had some really good supervisors who helped me to get started. Laura Insley was my supervisor during my practicum for my Master’s program and she was amazing. She was so encouraging, helpful with the feedback she gave me, and helped me to stay focused on my self-care and the ultimate goals I had. Dr. Joan David was a total God-send. She took me on as a Psych Assistant and helped me to get through all of the bumps and bruises of those difficult years. There were so many times when I wanted to give up and would cry on the couch in her office. She would just listen and validate me, then prop me back up and remind that everything was going to be ok. I really hope both of these women know just how special they are and how much of an impact they have made in my life.

Finally, I also leaned on my faith. A lot. I shed a lot of tears, did a lot of praying, had moments of anger at God, but also had so many more moments of gratitude. I truly believe He opened doors for me and put such wonderful people in my path. It wasn’t easy but I never felt that I was walking that difficult path alone.

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