Jan Sells

Jan Elise Sells is a licensed psychotherapist in Berkeley, California. In 1986 she developed a unique counseling program consisting of individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, conflict resolution and a Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) in one of the three inner-city public middle schools in Berkeley: Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. Jan expanded the counseling program there over a period of two decades, funded through grants written by the school principal. Every year Jan trained and supervised Marriage Family Therapist interns and school counselor trainees, as well as licensed psychotherapists from the community who volunteered in her program. In addition, Jan trained community volunteers to be mentors and mediators. King’s counseling program was so successful, the model was brought to the two other middle schools in Berkeley, where personal counseling, crisis intervention, conflict resolution and a GSA are integral parts of the Berkeley middle school culture today.

In recognition of her work at King, Jan was one of seven honorees to receive an award as Outstanding Woman of Berkeley for the year 2006, which coincided with her retirement from King. Meanwhile, Jan has also taught at U.C. Berkeley Extension; in 1996 she began teaching “Effective Interventions with Adolescents in Crisis,” which became a popular course in their Adolescents program. Jan has been interviewed on National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition” and in the journal of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, The Turning Wheel, as well as local newspapers such as The Berkeley Voice and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Jan Elise Sells is presently on the staff of Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA, as a Lecturer/Supervisor working with students in the Graduate Counseling Program. She also gives workshops on Crisis Intervention with Youth to other school districts and agencies in the Bay area and beyond. Jan continues to supervise interns who work with students at King Middle School, where the program she created is still going strong.