Jessica Rotterman
Jessica is a Couple and Family Therapy Student Intern completing her Master’s at Nova Southeastern University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Florida International University and a Master's in Emotional Intelligence from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Her experiences have enriched her understanding of how our emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and physical well-being are all intricately connected.
Her deep-rooted passion lies in helping individuals, families, and couples find compassionate pathways through life’s challenges. Jessica supports clients through building self-esteem, navigating life transitions, managing anxiety, and addressing relationship complexities.
She creates a safe space where clients can cultivate greater awareness of their inner world. Jessica often emphasizes the importance of recognizing and embracing emotions as the foundation towards meaningful change: “To feel, to breathe, to listen to our bodies. To learn from our emotions and self-dialogue—these open windows to new possibilities.”
Jessica has previously worked at Nova Southeastern’s Brief Therapy Institute, Broward County’s Promise Program, the Hospital 12 de Octubre, AMAPAR association for rheumatoid arthritis, the Complutense University student center of Madrid, and the Royal Guard of Spain. Through these experiences, she has helped clients develop emotional regulation, improve communication, establish healthy boundaries, and work towards creating fulfilling, meaningful lives.
Her therapeutic approach integrates mindfulness techniques such as grounding exercises and breathing practices, alongside narrative and emotion-focused therapy. Outside of the office, she enjoys leading women's circles, writing, spending time in nature or cooking with friends and family.
Hablo español!
Generally speaking, our interns are students at the Master’s level who are earning hours towards their desired graduate degree. They have completed most of all their required coursework or “book knowledge” and they are in the final stages of completing their degree. They are required to obtain 700 practice hours prior to being awarded their graduate degree. They are not employees of the practice; however, they work with us as affiliates. Family Therapy Group of Weston enters into a contract with NSU and offers them a clinical site to gain experience while also offering clinical supervision at no cost to the student or the university. In exchange, Family Therapy Group of Weston is able to set a lower rate for those counseling sessions, which benefits the public and also helps cover the overhead costs of having them on site and providing them with regular, scheduled clinical supervision as well as after hours or emergency supervision.
To be an intern with Family Therapy Group of Weston, they must have had prior experience working in the mental health field, some personal or professional experience with trauma, OR possess a skill set that sets them apart from the average intern. Our interns undergo a fairly rigorous process that includes a preliminary candidate questionnaire that requires some in-depth questions around their experience. If selected, they are required to spend the first 50 hours of their placement in sessions with our seasoned therapists. This allows them to observe a wide array of clients and therapeutic styles. It also helps them begin formulating their professional identity and allows our seasoned therapists to see them in action with clients.
Interns receive weekly supervision from their university supervisor. They are also required to have weekly on-site supervision with a site supervisor for the duration of their placement (4 hours a month). They may participate in several consult groups with our licensed staff and leadership team, depending on their clients and areas of specialty. In addition, several of our interns obtain training in other treatment modalities such as EMDR, Brainspotting, Trauma-Informed Hypnosis, Gottman Couples Counseling, etc. at some point during their internship to prepare them to launch into their role as a Master’s Level Counselor.
We see having interns as the key to keeping costs low without sacrificing the standard of care. It’s also a way to invest in the counseling profession through education and mentoring.