Jessika Fruchter, LMFT

05/26/2026

I was recently interviewed for an article on medical gaslighting and I’m grateful to have contributed to an important conversation about women’s health and the very real impact of repeated dismissal.

One thing I wish had made it into the final piece: not just how harmful medical gaslighting can be, but how women can begin reclaiming a sense of agency and safety within the healthcare system.

In my work with midlife women, I often remind clients that medical providers work for them. You are allowed to ask questions. You are allowed to interview providers before establishing care. You are allowed to say, “I’ve had difficult experiences in medical settings before.” You are allowed to seek collaborative care.

Repeated medical dismissal doesn’t just mirror traumait can become medical trauma. And part of healing isn’t just finding answers; it’s creating reparative experiences where women feel believed, supported, and safe.

Women deserve more than being told to advocate harder. They deserve healthcare relationships built on empathy, validation, and collaboration. Stay tuned for my next blog post on this very topic 🫶

MentalHealth MedicalTrauma

05/26/2026

I was recently interviewed for an article on medical gaslighting and I’m grateful to have contributed to an important conversation about women’s health and the very real impact of repeated dismissal.

One thing I wish had made it into the final piece: not just how harmful medical gaslighting can be, but how women can begin reclaiming a sense of agency and safety within the healthcare system.

In my work with midlife women, I often remind clients that medical providers work for them. You are allowed to ask questions. You are allowed to interview providers before establishing care. You are allowed to say, “I’ve had difficult experiences in medical settings before.” You are allowed to seek collaborative care.

Repeated medical dismissal doesn’t just mirror trauma, it can become medical trauma. And part of healing isn’t just finding answers; it’s creating reparative experiences where women feel believed, supported, and safe.

Women deserve more than being told to advocate harder. They deserve healthcare relationships built on empathy, validation, and collaboration.

MentalHealth MedicalTrauma

05/22/2026

And I’m not ashamed to admit, I’m totally obsessed with “my” hummingbirds 🥰

05/21/2026

Hey therapists! If you’re interested in learning how to utilize ritual in your psychotherapy practice or for yourself. This is the workshop for you!

In the three hours we spend together we’ll explore the symbolic, while referencing CBT, narrative therapy and expressive arts therapy principles. We’ll create our own container to explore and learn from each other.

You will leave with:

- Clinical applications of ritual in therapy (group and individual)

- An understanding of how to link ritual with treatment goals

- How to design your own ritual

There will be plenty of opportunity for Q and A, as well as feedback on ritual design if desired. Group size will be limited.

Date: Friday, June 12, 2026

Time: 10-1 PST

Ticket 🔗 : https://tinyurl.com/mr2ez36n or in bio

04/30/2026

Perimenopause can bring anxiety, overwhelm, irritability, and emotional shifts. These 5 grounded practices can help support your mental health during midlife.

04/25/2026

04/24/2026

Check out my latest interview in Huff Post!

Gen X has collective strength and grit, but without self-care and community care, burnout sets in, said Jessika Fruchter, a marriage and family therapist in Oakland, California. When clients show up in her office, “they’re often exhausted from white-knuckling through it all.”
“At this point in midlife, many of them are both caregivers to kids and to aging parents,” she said. “They also have careers, relationships and a long list of other responsibilities.”
Many in Gen X were latchkey kids, and Fruchter said it’s not uncommon to hear boasts like, “I basically raised myself.”

Do any of these sound familiar?

12/22/2025

This dark months ask us to retreat, to tend. Maybe that’s not possible on a large scale, but we can claim moments.

Today, Day 3 of Yule, I’m exploring home and hearth. The theme of home and belonging has been huge this year. Is home a building? A city? Our body? Maybe it’s not a vessel but a feeling.

🕯️ Ritual:
Tidy one small area in your physical space.

Make tea. Drink it without multitasking.

✍️ Journal:
How do I perceive home? What helps me feel held right now?

12/21/2025

Today we reflect on ancestry.

Midlife has a way of bringing us back to the question of lineage. What do we carry? What do we heal? And what ends with us?

Remember that just as we may grapple with patterns of intergenerational trauma, we also carry intergenerational wisdom and resilience.

🕯️ Ritual:
Light a candle for those who came before you. Speak their names—or simply thank them.

✍️ Journal:
What wisdom lives in me because of my ancestors?
What patterns stop here?

12/21/2025

Catch me here as we move mindfully through 12 days of Yule reflection and easeful celebration. Blessed solstice everyone 🙏