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About Jen Johnson
I’m a mindfulness coach, therapist, and speaker. I help people navigate stress, grief, health, and life transitions with greater awareness, resilience, and a deeper sense of connection to themselves and to the world around them.
My work integrates mindfulness, neuroscience, and reflective writing to support meaningful, lasting change. It’s about learning how to meet your experience with presence and curiosity, and discovering a more steady and compassionate way of being with your life so that you can make intentional choices that support your wellbeing.
I also bring creativity into this work. As a writer and photographer, I’ve seen how creative practice can open space for insight, healing, and renewal. Writing, in particular, can become a kind of refuge—a way of listening inwardly and making meaning from what we carry.
Who I Work With
I work with individuals who are:
- feeling stressed, overwhelmed, burned out, or stuck
- navigating grief, loss, or uncertainty
- moving through health concerns or life transitions
- seeking a more meaningful and creative way of living
- wanting to develop a mindfulness practice that supports daily life
Background
I’ve been a mindfulness teacher and counselor for over 40 years, with a background in clinical mental health counseling, health and wellness coaching, and rehabilitation counseling.
My work is grounded in neuroscience and informed by decades of experience supporting people through trauma, illness, grief, health crises, and major life transitions. I began studying brain science in the early 1980s and have worked in both clinical and research settings, including the Neurotoxicology Division of the EPA and Shepherd Center rehabilitation hospital.
I currently serve as a mindfulness instructor with the University of North Carolina’s Program in Integrative Medicine and as a North Carolina State Coordinator for the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America.
A Personal Note
My work has been shaped by my own experiences with loss, as well as a lifelong connection to the natural world.
I see healing as something that unfolds as we develop the capacity to face what is difficult and still appreciate the beauty that remains.
This understanding continues to guide everything I offer.
My work is shaped by my early experiences of loss and a lifelong search for ways to meet life’s difficulties with greater steadiness and care.
Over time, I found refuge in meditation, writing, photography, and the natural world—practices that continue to inform how I understand healing today.
These experiences led me to integrate mindfulness and creative practice in a way that supports both resilience and a deeper sense of meaning.
In my free time, I enjoy:
- writing and making photographs
- cultivating a native plant garden for pollinators
- volunteering as a bird steward for North Carolina Audubon & creek watcher for Cape Fear Riverwatch
- being in nature with my dog, Ari Rooh
Creative Work
In addition to my clinical and coaching work, I am a writer and photographer. My work has been published in books and publications that include Psychology Today, The Healing Muse, and The Creativity Post.
I’ve taught writing and mindfulness in universities, community programs, and private workshops, and I continue to explore the intersection of creativity, mindfulness, and healing through my teaching and my own practice.
Credentials
- Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor – NC
- Licensed Professional Counselor – GA
- Board Certified Coach
- Certified Rehabilitation Counselor
- Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT)
- M.S. Counseling
- M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling
- M.F.A. Interdisciplinary Arts (Creative Writing & Photography)
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Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakens.
Carl Jung