Jennifer Tai

I am a licensed clinical social worker and mental health therapist with a deep commitment to supporting individuals, families, and communities through trauma-informed, social-justice-oriented care, currently serving as Counselor Faculty at San José State University, a role I have held since March 2025, where I provide psychotherapy, psychological evaluation, diagnosis, individual and group counseling, and crisis assessment and intervention within Counseling and Psychological Services. I apply ethical and social-justice-oriented clinical practice in a mental health setting, develop psycho-educational programs, provide outreach and workshops to campus organizations, serve as the mental health liaison between Guardian Scholars and CAPS mental health services, and provide trainings to staff and clinicians on supporting foster youth in higher education.

I also serve as a Clinician I at Lotus Family Services, a part-time role I have held since October 2024, where I support children, adults, and families who have experienced family trauma or life stressors, including foster care and adoption, abuse, domestic violence, separation, divorce, codependency, narcissistic abuse, intimate partner violence, and childhood trauma. I was selected as part of the 2025 Foster Greatness Storyteller Collective, where I use digital storytelling to raise awareness of the foster care system and amplify the voices of youth with lived experiences in foster care.

Prior to my current roles, I served as School Mental Health and Wellness Social Worker at East Side Union High School District for seven months, where I supported high-risk students in an alternative high school setting with services, crisis interventions, and counseling, and as Post-MSW Clinical Social Work Fellow and Mental Health Therapist at the University of California, Berkeley for two years, where I provided psychological evaluation, counseling, psychotherapy, and crisis intervention, developed psycho-educational programs, participated in crisis management, and applied an integrative model of therapeutic and community-based interventions.

Across my career in mental health, social work, and higher education, my work has been driven by a commitment to equity, healing, and empowerment, particularly for foster youth, first-generation students, underrepresented communities, and individuals who have experienced trauma. Whether I am providing therapy, leading outreach, or advocating for systemic change, I bring a compassionate, strengths-based approach and a dedication to creating spaces where individuals and communities can heal, grow, and thrive. I am proud of the work I have done throughout my career and excited to continue serving students and communities through my work at San José State University and beyond.