Dr. Jenny Sachs

Dr. Jenny Sachs, PhD, LCSW, CIP, is a licensed clinical social worker, Certified Intervention Professional, and addiction specialist with extensive experience treating individuals and families affected by mental health and substance use disorders. She holds a PhD in Addiction Psychology and has spent her career working across multiple levels of behavioral healthcare, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of both individual treatment and the systems that shape it.

Dr. Sachs has practiced in a wide range of clinical settings, including an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), military substance use treatment as an Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) counselor, private practice, professional intervention services, and therapeutic intensives. This breadth of experience has allowed her to work with clients across the continuum of care, from early intervention to complex, chronic presentations involving co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Her work emphasizes individualized, evidence-informed treatment that addresses the underlying factors contributing to psychological distress rather than focusing solely on symptom management.

As a Certified Intervention Professional (CIP), Dr. Sachs has guided families through some of their most difficult moments, helping them navigate addiction, mental illness, treatment resistance, and recovery. She is particularly passionate about empowering families to become effective participants in the recovery process and believes that sustainable change is most likely when treatment extends beyond the individual to include the broader family system.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Sachs is an accomplished writer and advocate for meaningful reform within behavioral healthcare. Her work has been published in Grown and Flown, where she writes about resilience, parenting, and the long-term emotional impact of life's most challenging experiences. Her writing reflects her commitment to making psychological principles accessible while encouraging thoughtful conversations about mental health, recovery, and family relationships.

Together with her husband, psychiatrist Dr. Matthew Sachs, she is the co-author of the forthcoming book All the Wrong People Are in Charge. Drawing on their combined decades of clinical experience, the authors examine the structural and philosophical challenges facing today's mental health system and explore why expanding access to treatment has not consistently translated into better patient outcomes. Rather than focusing on isolated clinical techniques, the book challenges readers to reconsider many of the assumptions underlying modern mental healthcare and offers a framework for creating more effective, person-centered approaches to treatment and recovery.

Throughout her career, Dr. Sachs has remained committed to advancing the quality of behavioral healthcare through clinical practice, education, writing, and advocacy. She believes that genuine recovery requires more than symptom reduction—it requires addressing the biological, psychological, relational, and social factors that contribute to mental health and addiction. Her work is guided by the conviction that clinicians must continually question existing models of care, remain open to emerging evidence, and place the unique needs of each individual at the center of treatment.

Dr. Sachs lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with her husband, their son, and their dog.