Who I Am
Tim Jackson, LMFT — Private Pay Therapist in East Nashville
I believe that most of what we carry — the anxiety, the patterns, the walls we've built — makes complete sense when you understand where it came from. My job isn't to fix you. It's to sit with you in it, help you make sense of it, and find out what's ready to grow.
I work with individuals, couples, and all relationships — people navigating anxiety and stress, partners trying to find their way back to each other, and anyone who simply senses that something needs to shift. My practice is private pay, which means our work is entirely focused on you — not on what an insurance company authorizes. Here's why that shapes the work we do together.
I see clients in person at my East Nashville office and online across Tennessee and Virginia.
My Story
I spent a lot of my early life believing I had to have it all together — all at once, all the time. Even as a kid, I worked hard to achieve, to appear capable, to hold everything in place. For a long time, that worked. And then it got exhausting.
My own journey toward healing — the slow, nonlinear, sometimes uncomfortable work of understanding myself — is what brought me here. Along the way I discovered things that changed how I see people and relationships: the profound importance of attachment and how our earliest connections shape everything that comes after. The grounding power of living according to your values rather than your fears. The freedom that comes from embracing the present moment rather than fighting it. The unexpected relief of sitting with mystery instead of demanding answers. The way shifting perspective can open a door that felt permanently closed. And perhaps most importantly — the courage it takes to be truly vulnerable, and what becomes possible when you finally are.
I don't work from a place of having it all figured out. I work from a place of having done my own work — and continuing to. That matters to me. I think it matters to the people I sit with too.
Background and Training
I'm a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with over a decade of experience, including more than ten years as a psychology professor — which means I didn't just study how people change, I taught it. That background shapes how I work: I understand the research deeply, but I don't lead with theory. I lead with you.
I draw primarily on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), rooted in attachment theory, alongside Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). You can read more about how I work on my approach page. I'm a certified PREPARE/ENRICH facilitator and approved Gottman Relationship Checkup administrator — tools I use specifically in premarital and relationship work.
I'm an active member of the American Counseling Association, the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists, and the Tennessee Association of Marriage & Family Therapists.
I'm a husband and dad to two daughters — and to Franky, our Cocker Spaniel, and Sunny, our Mini Goldendoodle, who between them cover most of the emotional support bases. We're rooted in East Nashville, which is where we eat, wander, and spend most of our time. You'll usually find me with a good cup of coffee, planning the next beach trip, playing cooperative board games, or settling into one of those conversations that goes somewhere you didn't expect.
Let's Connect
Have questions before you reach out? Good Questions has answers.
Curious about the work before you reach out? Start with this.
Ready to take the next step? I'd love to hear from you. Reach out here.
Tim Jackson, LMFT is a private pay therapist in East Nashville offering individual counseling, relationship counseling, premarital counseling, and group therapy using EFT and ACT. $175 per session. Located at 1530 Riverside Drive, Nashville TN 37206.