Navigating the waves together

My name is Jennifer Flores, though I invite you to call me Jen. I spent twenty years in the United States military, where I had the honor of supporting members of Congress, senior military and civilian leaders, and high‑ranking government officials. My role was to coordinate lodging, transportation, dining, and every detail required to ensure first‑class hospitality and seamless events. I loved the precision of that work: the checklists, the logistics, the sense of accomplishment (and yes, the exhaustion) that came when all the moving parts fell into place.

After retiring, I pursued my master’s in counseling and graduated in 2014. In the years that followed, I worked with a wide range of individuals: people living with severe mental illness, children navigating intense behavioral challenges, and Veterans struggling because of military traumas. In 2019, I opened my private practice, continuing this meaningful, yet often heavy, work.

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That heaviness is what eventually led me to take a solo trip to the Oregon Coast, a place I had never been. The moment I arrived, something in me softened. I fell in love with the coastline, the quiet, the way the ocean holds space for whatever you bring to it. I’ve returned once or twice a year ever since, sometimes to cry into the waves, sometimes simply to breathe again. It’s the place where I remember who I am beneath all the mental noise, and where I continue to find peace.

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Coastal Calm Counseling LLC and Coastal Calm Wellness Retreats were born from that healing. I wanted to create a space that brings together both of my strengths, my grounding presence as a therapist and my deep love of hospitality so others can release their heaviness, reconnect with themselves, and experience the same sense of renewal the coast has given me.