Jessica Rak, APRN, is a board-certified Family Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who specializes in treatment of children and adolescents and provides psychiatric evaluations, psychotherapy and medication management. Jessica's experience spans across all levels of care, ranging from acute crisis stabilization to weekly psychotherapy, and she has worked in inpatient, outpatient and pediatric settings.  Jessica has a grounding in psychodynamic framework and has enhanced her practice with   evidence-based approaches, including intensive training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) through Marsha Linehan Behavioral Tech, LLC, as well as training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Jessica emphasizes a collaborative approach with her patients and their families and is comfortable in providing individual and family therapies and parent guidance. 

 

Jessica believes that no one family is the same and therefore uses a multi-modal approach to ensure the specific needs of each child and family are met.  She has experience in treating ADHD, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, trauma, high-functioning autism spectrum disorders, and psychotic disorders.  Her areas of interest lie in helping teens and families understand and navigate intense emotions while building in healthy ways to cope with these emotions in a compassionate and accepting way. 

 

Jessica was the acting Associate Medical Director of the Prospects Extended Day Program at Mid-Fairfield Community Cares Center (MFCCC) for nearly ten years, an intensive program for children ages 6-12 yrs old, and provided the medication management for MFCCC’s DBT program. Jessica also guest lectures at Yale University School of Nursing and has been a clinical preceptor for the Yale School of Nursing GEPN program. Jessica received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her Master's degree from Yale University.