Jess Bernal, LMFT


pattern pattern

Jess Bernal, LMFT (He/They) Jess Bernal is an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and Head Start/Early Head Start Consultant, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who holds a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and a certification of specialization in Behavior Analysis. They have spent over 15 years working with the birth to five population, specifically focusing on infant and early childhood mental health, neural and social/emotional development, staff and caregiver wellness, and mitigating the long-term effects of early childhood trauma. Jess strives to increase the general understanding of social/emotional development and behavior through a trauma-informed lens, while always staying true to the core values of inclusion, diversity, and social justice. With almost a decade of experience working within the Mental Health and Disabilities content areas of both Head Start and Early Head Start programs, Jess offers a variety of training and consultative services to ensure that Head Start and Early Head Start grantees are not only meeting program requirements but thriving in their support to children and families with mental health and disability needs. Services may include:

• Popular training topics: Staff Wellness and Self-Care, 0-5 Brain Development, Managing Challenging Behaviors, Trauma Informed Care, Supporting Parents and Caregivers of Children with Special Needs, Creating Inclusive Classrooms for Diverse Learning, Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Reflective Supervision

• Mental health and disabilities performance standards evaluation, systems organization, and policy and procedure review

• Wellness Promotion evaluation, implementation, and support (1302.45 a, 1-4)

• Mental Health Consultant evaluation, implementation, and support (1302.45 b, 1-6)

• Additional services for children evaluation, implementation, and support (1302.61)

Contact: jbernal.mft@gmail.com

Phone: 323-326-8291

Web: https://jbernalmft.com/

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Testimonials

Head Start Gear

CHECK OUT OUR NEW COLLECTION

Latest News

  • Edward Condon
  • June 11, 2025

NHSA Statement on Level Funding for Head Start in President’s FY2026 Budget May 30, 2025

Alexandria, VA  — The National Head Start Association (NHSA) issued the following statement in response to ...
Read More
  • Edward Condon
  • June 11, 2025

Head Start Feeds Almost 800,000 Kids Every Day. A Proposed Funding Change Puts That at Risk

Urban Institute - May 29, 2025 In recent months, the Trump administration has considered cutting funding for ...
Read More
  • Admin
  • September 22, 2021

CCRC’s Response to Universal Transitional Kindergarten

by Michael Olenick, Ph.D., President & CEO with research by Aja Goare For more ...
Read More

Questions? Contact us at headstartr9@region9hsa.org.