At Ensemble Therapy, our mission is to honor the whole child.
Our therapeutic philosophy is based on the foundational belief that all children deserve equal access to mental health resources. As we practice acceptance and inclusion and honor diverse identities the healing benefits ripple through the family system and the community at large. Healthy children grow up to be healthy adults.
We uphold this belief by committing to these three core values:
We create a foundational, inclusive, and safe space for every child where they feel accepted, supported, encouraged to take risks, and better prepared to face external factors that they cannot control.
We understand children; we speak their language, which allows us to act as calm, patient, and trustworthy translators between every child and their caregivers.
We must never forget that through this work, we are fostering the next generation of healthy humans. What we do with our clients today will have a lasting and contagious impact for the rest of their lives.
Ensemble Therapy serves all clients regardless of ability to pay. Sliding scale services are offered based on family size and income. For more information, please speak to our Intake Coordinator at hello@ensembletherapy.com or learn more about our Whole Child. Whole City. initiative.
Meet Our Founder — Jaclyn Sepp, MA, LPC-S, RPT-S™, NCC, RYT® 200
Jaclyn believes that all human beings, no matter how small, deserve a place to be accepted for who they are, which drove her to establish Ensemble Therapy in 2015 with the mission to bring high-quality therapeutic services to children, teens, and their families in Central Austin.
Jaclyn is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S), Registered Play Therapist Supervisor™ (RPT-S™), National Certified Counselor (NCC) and Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT® 200). She received her Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling from Texas State University (CACREP Accredited Program) and her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a Minor in Applied Learning & Development from The University of Texas at Austin.
Prior to becoming a therapist, Jaclyn worked for 11 years in public education, 4 years as a Professional School Counselor and 7 years as an Elementary School Teacher, so she understands the daily challenges that children & families face from a universal standpoint. She was also one of the three finalists for Austin ISD’s 2016 Counselor of the Year. In 2021, she was awarded the Tom Hoeffner Award from the Hill Country Chapter of the Texas Association for Play Therapy for outstanding education, training, and professional services to the community that significantly develop, promote, or advance the value of play therapy and credentialed play therapists. Jaclyn has learned that it takes participation from the most influential people in a child’s life - their parents, their teachers, their counselors, their coaches to name a few - to positively influence a child's social & emotional development.
Additionally, Jaclyn is a past President of the Hill Country Chapter of the Texas Association for Play Therapy, our local play therapy chapter of the Association for Play Therapy. Jaclyn also has facilitated trainings on play therapy at Texas State University, University of Texas at Austin Nursing School, The DFW Center for Play Therapy, Central Texas Physician Assistants Society, and The Hill Country Chapter of the Texas Association for Play Therapy. She is also the founder of Ensemble Learning Center, which offers learning sessions for professionals and caregivers alike.
Jaclyn also was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Social Work Department at The University of Texas at Austin. She taught graduate-level courses on Methods of Play Intervention, Assessment of Children & Adolescents, Human Behavior in the Social Environment, and Foundations of Social Justice. Jaclyn previously supervised school counselors through Region 13, providing guidance and feedback to beginning counselors, which allowed her to provide our local Austin community with well-prepared professionals to assist our children in the school setting.
She has had many years of experience with children of all ages and she regularly attends workshops, trainings and conferences in addition to reviewing the latest literature in the field of counseling. Austin has been her home since 2000 where she enjoys exploring the outdoors with her family, consuming the local foodie scene, and connecting with lifelong friends.
Ensemble Therapy Anti-Racism Statement
Ensemble Therapy is a values-driven organization with inclusivity as our number one core value, and continue to work towards being culturally sensitive, aware, and equitable. As mental health professionals and play therapists, we know that this movement is about human rights. We must be aware of the generational trauma imposed on our child clients and their families. What we do with our clients today will have a lasting and contagious impact for the rest of their lives. We are committed to doing our own internal work and disrupting systemic racism.
Although our graduate counseling programs and state licensure boards require training in multicultural competencies, we acknowledge that we have more personal and professional work to do. Therefore, we have developed an Anti-Racist Plan of Action as an organization that addresses racism on individual and team levels. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee meets monthly and works to facilitate conversations and meet strategic plan goals related to social justice. Our committee examines our structures, actions, and values to ensure the continuous integration of DEI. In our monthly staff meetings we allocate time specifically to discuss how race impacts our work and how we can best serve diverse populations. Additionally, our practice reflects this inner work by the materials we share with caregivers to promote developmentally appropriate language and resources for families to utilize. We will continue to purchase children’s books written by People of Color and featuring characters of color on a variety of counseling topics for the use of bibliotherapy in sessions and also for sharing with clients to enjoy at home.
We commit to better educating ourselves, challenging ourselves, and challenging each other. We commit to identifying what gets in the way of us being the allies that we desire to be and to make changes. We commit to not just doing the necessary internal work, but also going into our families and communities to take real action. And perhaps most importantly, we commit to being in this with you for the long haul, rather than fizzle after the media has moved on. We stand against racism, hate, and intolerance in all forms. We also encourage our clients to engage in understanding and challenging their own biases and privilege, allying with community efforts, while exploring and deepening their social understanding and cultural awareness.
Ensemble Therapy serves all clients regardless of ability to pay. Sliding scale services are offered based on family size and income. For more information, please speak to our Intake Coordinator at hello@ensembletherapy.com or learn more about our Whole Child. Whole City. Initiative.