Spotlight Feature: Jeannette Correa
Meet Jeannette Correa, PhD, a Clifton Park native, psychologist and former wedding coordinator who now writes about weddings and relationships for Psychology Today.
How we found Jeannette
We’ve been looking for interesting people
When Clifton Park Spark recently asked readers to tell us about interesting people with a connection to Clifton Park, Jeannette Correa reached out..
“I’m a Clifton Park native who came back after college. I’m a wedding coordinator turned psychologist.”
That’s a pretty interesting career transition!
Correa spent about a decade in Boston for school before returning to the area. Today, she works as a psychologist, serves patients from Clifton Park and elsewhere in the Capital Region, and writes the To Your Wedding and Beyond blog for Psychology Today.
no place like home
Back to Clifton Park
Correa grew up here, and much of her family still lives in the area. After roughly 10 years in Boston, the suburbs started to look a little different.
As she began thinking more seriously about expanding her family, returning home became increasingly appealing.
“It took being away for me to really appreciate that.”
Clifton Park Memories
Out Of The Ordinary
Correa remembers Clifton Park being a little less busy, but says many of the things that defined growing up here still feel familiar.
Some of my happiest memories of growing up here are also the most ordinary.
Summer meant going to the community pools almost every day, trading Pokémon cards and learning how to swim.
Now she finds herself teaching her daughter to swim and playing Pokémon GO at some of those same pools.
Looking back, she believes the consistency and sense of safety she experienced growing up in Clifton Park helped shape her attachment to familiar places and traditions.
An unusual career path
Wedding Coordinator → Psychologist
On paper, wedding coordination and psychology might look like two completely different careers. For Correa, the connection became surprisingly natural.
Helping people plan, make decisions, negotiate, compromise and celebrate relationships.
Helping people understand relationships, communication and emotional patterns on a deeper level.
“As a wedding coordinator I got to observe connection and help people celebrate it. As a psychologist, I get to interact with relationships on a deeper level.”
What weddings can reveal
A Wedding Can Be a Tiny Preview of a Relationship
Working behind the scenes at weddings gave Correa a close-up look at some of the practical skills that lasting relationships require.
Two people have to repeatedly make choices together.
Plans change, stress builds and disagreements happen.
Compromise becomes practical very quickly.
A wedding budget can reveal larger financial values.
Correa sees wedding planning as a small-scale version of many issues couples will eventually encounter throughout a marriage.
Where the careers overlapped
At One Point, the Two Worlds Literally Met
Early in her psychology career, Correa helped create a mock wedding for someone struggling with wedding-related anxiety.
The exercise was connected to exposure therapy, an approach that remains an important part of her therapeutic work.
At the same time, graduate training introduced her to couples therapy.
The pieces started fitting together.
Writing beyond the therapy room
To Your Wedding and Beyond
Correa now writes about weddings, marriage and relationships for Psychology Today.
“As a psychologist, I can only help those on my caseload. As a Psychology Today blogger, I can share strategies to a much larger audience.”
The conversation
More With Jeannette Correa
We asked Correa about growing up in Clifton Park, weddings, relationships, psychology and what she is interested in exploring next.
Responses have been lightly edited for spelling and punctuation without changing their meaning.
What is your connection to Clifton Park, and what brought you back after college?
I grew up here and a lot of my family still live in the area. After living in Boston about 10 years for school, I started to miss a lot of things about the suburbs.
As I was prioritizing expanding my family, I became more interested in returning. Clifton Park is an especially beautiful place for a young family. It took being away for me to really appreciate that.
What was Clifton Park like when you were growing up here?
I remember it being less busy, but honestly a lot of the core things are the same. I still call Market 32 Price Chopper, which always confuses my husband. I do miss Jeepers and its indoor dragon rollercoaster.
I would not have been able to verbalize this growing up, but I was shaped by the consistency and safety in the community.
Some of my happiest memories of growing up here are also the most ordinary. We went to the community pools basically every day over the summer. I traded Pokémon cards and learned how to swim.
Now I teach my daughter how to swim and play Pokémon GO at those same pools. As an adult, I find myself feeling happiest surrounded by things that are familiar or nostalgic. That aspect of myself is certainly a result of growing up here.
You made an unusual transition from wedding coordinator to psychologist. How did that happen?
Interestingly, I had an overlap with weddings and mental health early in my career.
I helped create a mock wedding for someone struggling with wedding-related anxiety. Exposure therapy is a huge part of my therapeutic practice and this was really fun and unique.
I was lucky enough to learn about couples therapy during my graduate training and the pieces just seemed to fit together nicely.
As a wedding coordinator I got to observe connection and help people celebrate it. As a psychologist, I get to interact with relationships on a deeper level.
Looking back, what did working behind the scenes at weddings teach you about people and relationships?
It really helped me see the practicality that is needed to have a healthy, lasting relationship.
Wedding planning is such a microcosm of things that come up in relationships. You have to make decisions, get frustrated, achieve goals together, negotiate, compromise and build a budget.
It’s really important to notice if any of these things are a struggle, because if they are, you may be seeing the beginning of a communication issue.
Don’t panic about that, of course, because it is always easier to work on an issue when it is new and not a decades-long habit.
What interested you in writing about weddings and relationships for Psychology Today?
Psychology Today is a great platform. Anyone can get information from professionals written in a way that is understandable.
As a psychologist, I can only help those on my caseload. As a Psychology Today blogger, I can share strategies to a much larger audience.
Healthy relationships are vital to our mental health. I wanted to be able to help those who might not have access to a clinician.
What is something people often misunderstand about the emotional side of planning a wedding?
I think there is an assumption that planning a wedding needs to be emotional ups and downs, full of nothing but passion and romance.
The level of detail can be overwhelming for some, but you don’t have to overdo it. The main thing is to stay focused on the ultimate goal, which is actually getting married.
Is there a relationship lesson you wish more people learned before getting engaged or married?
Make sure you have handled a stressor together before making a permanent commitment.
It does not have to be something life altering. It can be a disagreement about something important.
Love is easiest when we are happy, but lasting love endures disagreement, anger and exhaustion.
Actually experiencing how you handle something difficult together is a vital lesson.
Without sharing anything confidential, is there a moment from your career that changed how you understand people or relationships?
I cannot think of a moment that wouldn’t be identifiable!
What are you currently working on or especially interested in exploring next?
I always have a few titles and articles partly finished. I will be writing more about finances: ways to communicate about debt, budgeting, spending and financial values.
It is another one of those topics that is vital to planning your wedding, but also important for a strong marriage.
Clinical practice
Correa’s physical group practice is in Latham, and she also serves patients from Clifton Park.
Correa is accepting new patients.
Patient availability can change. Contact the practice directly for current information.
Thanks Jeannette!
We appreciate you reaching out and wish you nothing but success and happiness in the future.
