Employee Spotlight: Nicole Jones, mental health counselor

Nicole Jones, mental health counselor at Evergreen, is a trailblazer in social work and mental health advocacy who has dedicated her career to empowering others. Nicole creates a safe environment for her patients to grow and heal by providing trauma-informed and affirming care for everyone she works with, especially for survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence, people in LGBTQ+ communities and those who engage in sex work.

Nicole earned her master’s in social work and bachelor’s in political science and government, with a minor in global gender studies, from the University at Buffalo. She served as an intern at the The Family Justice Center and at VOICE Buffalo while earning her master’s degree, then at Buffalo Women Services as an intake counselor, and as a Licensed Master Social Worker at the International Institute of Buffalo, before joining team Evergreen as a mental health counselor in 2021.

Nicole truly embodies our promise to provide unconditional care: she is ever present and ever ready to care for anyone she meets in her day-to-day efforts. She provides trauma-informed counseling with a focus on mindfulness, safety, and helping individuals understand their emotions and how thoughts affect emotions and behaviors, to treat the whole person and to connect each patient to a network of additional medical and supportive care.

Nicole is a part of Evergreen’s Behavioral Health Center team, who was recognized in 2023 by the Health Resources and Services Administration for increasing access to care. Recently, she partnered with Evergreen’s Primary and Specialty Care services and Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, a global leader in LGBTQ+ healthcare, to create programming tailored to meeting the needs of those who engage in sex work. She also co-facilitates a sex worker health support group in her local community, led by her colleagues Aanya Woods and Eris Morgan.

Nicole was recently honored by Buffalo Business First’s 30 Under 30 Awards in recognition of the positive impact she’s made in our region. We’re proud to have her on our team and can’t wait to see how she continues to grow and meet the ever-changing needs of the patients she works with each day.

Read on for a glimpse into Nicole’s work, in her own words.

What does a typical workday look like for you?

A typical workday for me is full of seeing patients, coordinating care with others, and participating in supervision with my coworkers. I usually see between 5-8 patients a day for mental health counseling! Between sessions I am writing gender affirming surgery letters, checking in with patients and colleagues, writing notes, and working on my professional development.

Why did you choose to work in this field?

The helping profession has always been a field that I have been pulled to; I come from a family of nurses, teachers, and social workers. Originally I saw myself going into politics somehow—however after a few internships, I found myself burned out and somewhat cynical with that landscape. I then found the social work field and realized that this is field is exactly what I was looking for—a way to uphold my strong social justice oriented values while also working with real people to make real change.

Why did you choose to work at Evergreen?

Evergreen has always been my goal. I have a lot of respect for the values and care here. When I saw that a mental health position was opening that involved grant work with our local Human Trafficking Intervention Court, a court that I have had much experience working with professionally, I knew I couldn’t pass up on that opportunity to continue forward with my career and expand my skills into the clinical world.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of the job is forming real, supportive relationships with my patients. It’s an honor to be let in to someone’s inner world, and the trust that we build in session can be a powerful force for change and growth.

How do you meet the unique needs of patients who are survivors of human trafficking or domestic violence, members of the LGBTQ+ community, or who engage in sex work?

Every population has unique needs and challenges, and I have found that meeting folks where they are at is one of the best ways to build a working relationship with them. At the end of the day, we are all just people trying to figure out our way through the world. Treating each patient with unconditional positive regard and not assuming anything about their life can go a long way. Often, we have an image in our head of what a survivor of trafficking looks like, what a sex worker looks like, what a gender diverse person looks like– I can promise you that whatever image you conjure for these folks in your head is not accurate. Letting our own thoughts and opinions take a backseat and utilizing gentle and warm curiosity can be hard but is so necessary in meeting the unique needs of these patients.

How has your field of work changed so far throughout your career?

I began my social work career in 2018, which came with a lot of policy changes and challenges in the social work field in general. I began working as a case manager for youth survivors of trafficking at a time that was full of uncertainty and fearmongering. Social media was portraying human trafficking in a way that was not realistic and part of my work was continued educating on what this crime actually was. As time went on, I transitioned into working as a medical social worker, helping survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence receive culturally competent and needed medical care. Taking those skills to educate and empower others, I was able to share them with other professionals. All of this prepared me to make the scary and needed change into a clinical career! I now get to work with folks of all backgrounds and in doing this, I get to help patients see that they have the power to make change.

What changes are you looking forward to in the future?

The world is very scary right now for many of our patients; rights are being stripped away and protections that used to exist no longer exist. However, I also see the real difference that is being made within the helping professions and the continued effort to reach more folks and expand services. I hold a lot of hope that we can make positive change moving forward for everyone, for both our staff and our patients.

Evergreen Health offers a variety of mental and behavioral health services to meet your unique needs and goals. To learn more about our mental health services, including one-on-one and group counseling, psychiatry, substance use counseling, and connections to other medical and supportive services, ask your primary care doctor for a referral or call us at 716.847.2441 (option 2).