About

MY QUALIFICATIONS

I’ve been a practicing psychotherapist since 2011, and I have over 25 years of business experience, so I understand the challenges of navigating organizational structures and cultures. I wore many hats in my business career from chief of staff at American Express to liaison to the board of directors at a nonprofit to general manager of a startup.

I hold the following degrees, licenses, and accreditations:

Bachelor of Science in business administration from Villanova University

Master of Social Work degree with a clinical concentration from Fordham University

Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York State

Certified Professional Coach accreditation from Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC)

Professional Certified Coach (PCC) accreditation from International Coaching Federation (ICF)

Learn about my leadership coaching practice.

Photo of Jill Sammak standing in her office

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK WITH ME

You know where I went to school. You see the letters after my name, but you still don’t know what it’s like to work with me. Since that’s probably why you’re here, I’ll tell you a story.

Photo of "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging on door

Girl Interrupted

A benefit of COVID was the ability to work from anywhere, so after being locked down for the spring and summer of 2020, I left New York City to spend the year-end holiday season at my parents’ home.

Because I was working during the day, my family knew the second floor was off limits. That’s why I was surprised to hear the door open behind me when I was in session one afternoon. I recognized my mother’s footsteps and assumed she’d retreat when she saw me on a video call. Instead, she continued to enter the room.

Photo of soiled t-shirt hanging on clothesline

Dirty Looks and Dirty Laundry

I wanted to intercept her before she wandered into the video frame, so I turned my head and gave her the most expressive look my face could muster. It is a face she likely recognized from my adolescence, and decades later, it still proved effective because she scampered out of the room, closing the door gently behind her.

Later, I asked: “Mom, WHAT were you thinking walking into the room when I was in session?”

“I heard you laughing, so I assumed you were talking to a friend. I was going to ask if you wanted me to put any whites in the wash.”

Photo of hand throwing confetti into the air

Good Clean Fun

I’ve been told how the sound of my laughter travels–sometimes with appreciation and others with annoyance–but, in this moment, I was reminded of something else I’d heard before. In my former corporate jobs, co-workers often remarked when I was collaborating with my team, “You are having way too much fun!”

I would rebut that work and fun are not mutually exclusive. We can do both simultaneously, and the more we do, the less hard the work feels.

Kleenex and Giggles

I bring this philosophy to psychotherapy. Is it always going to be fun? Nope. If I’m doing my job right, sometimes it will be uncomfortable and maybe even painful. We’ll talk about hard things. You may even shed some tears, but we’ll also laugh together.

And all those things could happen in the very same session because that’s how feelings are–they come, and they go, and we should welcome all of them like trick or treaters ringing the doorbell on Halloween.

While it’s important to maintain what we in the business of psychotherapy call “therapeutic boundaries,” I bring myself, my personality, and my humanity to every session. I am not what Sigmund Freud called “a blank slate.” I’m a person, and you’re a person, and I’m confident that we can come together, so you can get the healing, the comfort, and the sense of direction, possibility, and purpose you’re seeking.

Let's Work Together

Currently supporting individual adults and couples.

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