Meet Jessica
You wake up tired — even after a full night’s sleep. You lie there for a moment, already running through the list. Everything you didn’t finish. Everything you need to do today. Everything you’re probably going to fall short on.
You get up anyway. You show up. You smile. You say yes when someone asks for your help, even though every part of you wanted to say no. You do good work — really good work — and then you brush it off, because somewhere in the back of your mind you’re waiting for everyone to figure out you’ve been faking it this whole time.
By the end of the day, you’re exhausted — but your brain won’t stop. It replays the list. It replays the conversation you had at work. It asks if you did enough, said the right thing, were enough. And underneath all of it is this quiet, nagging feeling you can’t quite name: like you’re living your life for everyone else’s approval, and you don’t even remember when that started.
If you just thought “this is me”,hi. I’m Jessica, and this is exactly the work I do.
Why Does It Feel This Way?
Anxiety, perfectionism and people-pleasing rarely come out of nowhere. Often they started as smart ways of staying safe: being the helpful one, the good kid, the one who never caused problems.
For many people, especially those raised between cultures or in families where sacrifice was part of the story, being “strong” and “good” wasn’t a personality trait. it was a job.
That job works, right up until it doesn’t. What’s left is exhaustion, guilt and a voice that says it’s never enough. That isn’t a personal failing. It’s a pattern, and patterns can change.
Who I am
I’m Jessica Batres, a Registered Social Worker (RSW) with a Master of Social Work from the University of Windsor. I support individuals and couples who are tired of holding it all together, ready to break free and build a life that feels like theirs.
I’m also the daughter of immigrants and member of the Latin American community, so I understand cultural guilt, family sacrifice, and the pressure of living between two worlds. That layer of complexity is woven into who I am and how I show up in the therapy room. I’ve also walked through my own version of burnout, and it’s what brought me to this work.
I named this practice Raíces, “roots” in Spanish, because where you come from can be your strength instead of your burden. You don’t have to be an immigrant or second-generation to belong here. Impossible expectations don’t discriminate.
How I Work
My approach is warm, collaborative, and grounded: no jargon, no judgment, no generic advice. Here’s what I draw on, and what it looks like in practice:
Narrative Therapy looks at the stories you’ve absorbed about your worth, like “I’m only valuable when I’m useful,” and helps you see the problem as separate from who you are.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is the idea that we all have “parts”: the one that pushes, the one that pleases, the one that’s exhausted. Instead of fighting them, we get curious about what each one is trying to protect.
Mindfulness and self-compassion give you practical tools to catch the spiral sooner and talk to yourself with less criticism.
We’ll work at your pace. Your voice leads. My role is to walk alongside you.
Who I Work With
I support individuals and couples navigating anxiety, depression, burnout, people-pleasing, perfectionism, guilt, postpartum depression or anxiety, life transitions, identity questions, and the quiet exhaustion of living up to everyone else’s version of who you should be. For couples, that often means moving from doing everything “right” to actually feeling close again.
How it works
1
Who I Work With
I support individuals and couples navigating anxiety, depression, burnout, people-pleasing, perfectionism, guilt, postpartum depression or anxiety, life transitions, identity questions, and the quiet exhaustion of living up to everyone else’s version of who you should be. For couples, that often means moving from doing everything “right” to actually feeling close again.
2
What to Expect
A free 15-minute consultation to ask questions and see if we’re a good fit
50-minute sessions, virtually or by phone across Ontario, with in-person available in Durham Region
English, French, or SpanishYour pace.
You don’t need to have it all figured out to start.
3
What’s Possible
Imagine waking up and not immediately feeling behind. Making a decision without spiraling. Saying no without a wave of guilt. Finishing something and actually letting yourself feel proud of it, not because it was perfect, but because it was yours.
That’s not a fantasy. That’s what this work is about.
4
Not Ready to Book? Start Here
How to Let Go of Perfectionism?
You’ve spent a long time taking care of everyone else
This is the space to take care of you. When you’re ready, I’m here.
