Jessica K. Heriot

Jessica Heriot became a feminist in 1969 after finding women’s liberation. In 1971 she discovered “feminist therapy”and decided to become a psychotherapist. In 1973, she and four other women founded the Women’s Growth Center, (still in existence after forty-five years) which offered psychotherapy rooted in a feminist perspective. A practicing therapist for 32 years, she received a Ph.D. in social work in 1992 and was an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work where she designed a course on clinical practice with women based on her long feminist practice.

Her first foray into writing began with a chapter, “The Double Bind: Healing the Split” in a book (Women Changing Therapy) published in 1983. Her dissertation about the role of mothers in incest families was published in a respected research journal in 1996. After writing about her mother’s death, Dr. Heriot thought that personal narratives from real people dealing with common problems in living and mental health issues would be useful to students in social work, psychology, and counseling. She co-edited The Use of Personal Narratives in the Helping Professions: a Teaching Casebook, published in 2002.

Her current book is a look-back at the early days of feminism, feminist therapy, women’s psychology, and her life-changing experiences as a second wave feminist that transformed her life and career.