Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Bess Jensen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a strong background in providing school-based services to children. She supports students across developmental stages as they navigate social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Her work includes helping younger children build emotional regulation skills and adjust to school routines, while guiding older students in developing healthy peer relationships, decision-making abilities, and independence. She addresses a range of concerns, including anxiety, peer conflict, attention and behavioral challenges, and the impact of family changes or other life stressors. Through this work, she focuses on strengthening coping skills, enhancing communication, and empowering children to respond to challenges in healthy and productive ways.
Her career in social work began with work in a group home, where she primarily supported adolescent girls. In this role, she helped residents develop daily living skills, participated in community outings, monitored family visits, and provided support as they navigated everyday challenges.
Bess earned her bachelor’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science from National Louis University. Following graduation, she worked on an inpatient psychiatric unit at Good Samaritan Hospital, where she provided care to adult and geriatric populations. Her responsibilities included facilitating group therapy, offering individual support, and assisting with crisis intervention.
Bess earned her Master of Social Work with a school concentration from the University of Illinois Chicago, Jane Addams School of Social Work in 2009. During her graduate training, she completed an internship at a community mental health agency providing individual, group, and family counseling focused on trauma and substance use. In this role, she worked closely with youth and caregivers to reduce conflict, improve communication, and strengthen family functioning. In this capacity, Bess honed her skills at supporting the development of coping, emotional regulation, and social skills. During her second internship at Whittier Elementary School in Oak Park District 97, she focused on supporting students in building social skills, strengthening emotional regulation, and improving peer relationships through targeted interventions, while promoting positive and inclusive environments that support student well-being and academic success.
Following completion of her MSW, she transitioned into full-time work in school settings, where she has supported students with a wide range of behavioral, emotional, and academic needs. Her experience spans therapeutic and general education environments, where she has worked closely with classroom teachers and parents to create consistent, supportive strategies across settings. Bess places strong value on collaboration with caregivers, recognizing that meaningful progress often happens when families are actively involved. Bess addresses issues related to grief, divorce, self esteem, learning differences, peer and sibling relationships. This perspective informs her ability to provide family therapy that addresses the needs of the child within the context of the whole family system.
Bess is guided by the belief that every child deserves to feel heard and understood. She prioritizes creating a space where children can share their voices, recognizing that while their perspectives may not always reflect the full context of a situation, it represents their lived experience. By meeting children where they are and honoring their perspective, she builds trust and connection, creating opportunities for growth, new insights, and meaningful change.