Jessica Parrillo, Ph.D

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Jessica Parrillo joined the GWU CAPS team in June 2020 after serving as the Director of Counseling at Ursinus College and the Clinical Director at Drexel University. Prior to that she worked in the counseling centers at Columbia and Princeton University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Washington and Lee University, her master’s degree in psychological counseling from Teacher’s College, Columbia University and her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Georgia after completing an APA accredited pre-doctoral internship at the counseling center of Johns Hopkins University. Collectively, these roles have allowed her to identify her passion for providing quality mental health services to the undergraduate and graduate student population, particularly in supervisory and administrative roles. 

Jessica provides oversight for CAPS, including the delivery of psychological services to students, the organization and integration of counseling, training, outreach and consulting activities, staff supervision and management, evaluation and assessment of services and programs, and other administrative duties. She also seeks to review and establish best practices for the center that best meet the needs of the campus community and support student development objectives as well as the academic mission.

Jessica enjoys working with students to address both clinical and developmental issues and hopes that through therapy, students can better realize their potential. She conceptualizes from an integrative psychodynamic and interpersonal-relational framework and incorporates a variety of interventions aimed at empowering others to more effectively navigate their concerns, develop new coping strategies and increase their awareness. Incorporating the belief that each student must be understood as an individual whose worldview and sense of self has been informed through many social, cultural and relational interactions, she believes that therapy must be culturally sensitive. Jessica is also passionate about the provision of clinical supervision and contributing to the development of staff. In both her clinical work with students as well as her supervision of staff, she aims to foster personal growth in others through the creation of a safe, open and trusting environment and the establishment of genuine, authentic relationships.