Natacha M. Jacques
Natacha Jacques, a New York native, received her BS in Psychology and her MS in Experimental Psychology from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. She then began working at the Veterans Affair Medical Center in 2008 within their Mental Illness Research Education Clinical Center (MIRECC) in a dual position: psychology technician conducting telephone-based triaging interviews with Veterans interested in connecting to mental health services as well as a research coordinator for various studies focusing on the treatment of substance use, depression, PTSD, and pain. In 2014, she earned her MSW and M.Ed. focusing on Human Sexuality from the Center for Human Sexuality Studies (CHSS) at Widener University in Chester, PA. She completed her doctoral work from the same program with a research focus on female veterans’ sexual functioning, mental wellness, and their relationship with their primary care providers, earning her Ph.D. in August of 2020.
Natacha has worked with adult male sex offenders post-incarceration providing relapse prevention treatment as mandated by their parole and probation stipulations within a group and individual setting. Present day, she is at the VA Medical Center working as a subject matter expert on software implementation for measurement based care projects and as a clinician within Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) caring for veterans with a myriad of mild to moderate mental and behavioral health concerns within a primary care setting. She has worked for Columbia University’s School of Social Work (CSSW) since 2016 and currently holds the position of an Adjunct Lecturer, leading classes focusing on human sexuality and clinical practices with sexual minorities for master’s level students. She provides clinical supervision to LSWs, consultation to other clinical sexologists on training materials and conference presentations, and has made guest appearances on a podcasts discussing sexuality and sexual myths.
Natacha believes, wholeheartedly, in the intersection of sexual health and mental health, which continues to drive her research interests, clinical practice, and teaching style. Her future goals all center around destigmatizing conversations around sexual functioning, decolonizing the clinical approach to treating sexual concerns, and dismantling the system of power that continues to oppress women’s sexuality.