Hi! I’m Jen Kljajic I am here to walk alongside you in getting ahead of your pain and learning to live within your values and purpose to make the most of everyday.

Jen Kljajic

LICSW, SSW, BCD

Background

Jen Kljajic, LICSW founded Made Real in honor of her brother and father, both veterans who worked manual labor their entire life and suffered from Chronic Pain. Jen grew up in Michigan and earned her MSW from University of Hawaii in 2004 and has had an LICSW since 2013.

Jen went into the field of social work to help children in schools who were at risk. Learning how ADHD, Trauma and Neglect affected learning sparked her interest in cognitive neuroscience. For ten years, she spent most of her extra time learning best practices and interventions to help students who did not fit into the neurotypical learning environment in the public school setting. Jen provided intervention to students and education to teachers and leadership on how to optimize the learning environment for students at risk including making space for calming environments within the schools as well as activity centers for kinesthetic learners.

Her focus shifted in 2018 when she lost her brother after he was fast tapered from opioids he took as prescribed for Chronic Pain and placed on a benzodiazepine that had devastating side effects. It was at that time, she knew she had to take what she learned about neuroplasticity and apply it to our silent and invisible epidemic of Chronic Pain and Iatrogenic Illness.

Jen specializes in Chronic Pain, Grief and Loss, Trauma, Anxiety, Depression and Medication Dependency when taken as prescribed and tapering. Jen’s focus is on neuro-informed care through Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Jen has a strong spiritual faith and can bring your faith, traditions and beliefs into your sessions as well as existential processes. Jen enjoys spending quality time with her husband, teenage children, gardening, and cooking for large family gatherings.

Experience & recognition

  • Trained by Dr. Eric Garland from University of Utah in Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Pain who learned his evidence based interventions from Jon Kabat-Zinn to provide real time relief in session and how to use them in between.
  • Trained by Dr. Amer Raheemullah, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University
  • More than 20 years of personal experience with Chronic Pain and Illness of family members and 7 years of professional experience in working with individuals with Chronic Pain and Illness
  • Specializes in chronic conditions including (but not limited to) Benzo-Induced Neurological Dysfunction (10.1371/journal.pone.0285584), fibromyalgia, chronic low back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic headache/migraine, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS/RSD), iatrogenic Illness, peripheral nerve pain and idiopathic chronic pain.
  • Developed Clinical Pathways for a Chronic Pain Program that served over 6000 patients and served as Director of Therapy at a tele-health company called Lucid Lane.
  • Published in a book called Advanced Therapeutics in Pain Medicine and a study called Feasibility of recruiting elective spinal surgery patients in the preoperative anesthesia clinic for a tele-health behavioral pain management intervention study during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Developed and published NASW training called Differentiation between Physiological Dependence and Substance Use Disorder. Prevention and Intervention, 2022.
  • Subject Matter Expert for Safe Medication Tapering per the HHS Guidelines for Opioids and Ashton Manual for Benzodiazepines.
  • Contracted with Marvin Behavioral Health to provide therapy for Physicians, Physicians Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Nurse and Healthcare Support Staff and their families.
  • Contracted with Override Health to provide a team based approach to Chronic Pain.
  • Contracted with Presence to provide interventions, advocacy and evaluations for students in a virtual environment.
  • Member of the Governor’s Challenge Subgroup for Safe Prescribing Practices in Michigan.

Testimonials

Gerise Pappas, Leadership Coach

It was a true honor to be on the leadership team with Jen Kljajic. Jen was the consummate exemplar of our mission, vision and core cultural Values. It was as if they were an expression of who she is. Jen demonstrated our core value of Members Come First in her compassionate and effective leadership style. She provided cohesive support for our counselor team while being a champion for each of them to share their therapeutic skills and gifts in a collaborative way. Some of Jen’s superpowers include providing compassionate care to our members, being approachable so that her team could benefit from her vast knowledge as an LICSW, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, being transparent in her communication with her peers and direct reports, communicating effectively in ways that others could not only hear where they need to improve but were left inspired to grow! A natural attunement and emotional intelligence exudes through Jen and is her ultimate super power. I know that I am a better person and more effective leader for having worked with her. If you have the opportunity to collaborate with Jen, you are in for enriching experience personally and professionally.
Dr. Amer Raheemullah, Associate Professor Stanford University

I worked with Jen at Lucid Lane for 4 years and we created clinical protocols together for opioid dependence, benzodiazepine dependence, chronic pain, anxiety, and mood disorder. Her clients consistently praised her compassion, understanding, and effectiveness in helping them change their lives. She ran a team of therapists and showed strong leadership skills and communication. She was always available, reliable, and would always go the extra mile. Her leadership style is warm and encouraging. She works well with other members on her leadership team, seeks to understand other people's point of view, and aims to come to the most beneficial outcome for everyone. It was an honor to work and learn from her.
Mubenna Siddiqui, RCM Director Hazel Health

Jen and I worked together at Lucid Lane from when it was just 5 employees to when it grew to 100. I have no words to express Jen's worth ethic, her compassion and her deep care for the clients she serves. She is always and willing to pick up any task regardless if within her department. She has an amazing patience and skills. We worked in a fast paced environment and Jen was always ready to take on whatever was thrown her way. She always exhibits exemplary leadership skills, ethic clinical decision making and over all a person you want to be around. I will truly miss working with her.
Beau Norgeot, PHD AI Leadership in Healthcare

I had the privilege of working closely with Jen for 2 years at Lucid Lane, where our roles as Chief Data Officer and Head of Clinical Services respectively, brought us together on numerous pioneering projects at the nexus of clinical care, quality, data, science, and artificial intelligence. Jen's exceptional ability to bridge the clinical and technical realms truly stood out. She masterfully translated her expansive clinical knowledge into actionable guidelines, workflows, and best practices, proving instrumental in both the development and validation of our data science and AI solutions. What's even more commendable is Jen's unwavering commitment to patient outcomes. Her dedication was evident in her tireless work ethic, quick turnarounds, and proactive approach. Furthermore, her openness to novel ideas ensured that our collaborations were not just productive, but also innovative. It's rare to find a collaborator as diligent, knowledgeable, and forward-thinking as Jen. I wholeheartedly endorse her for any endeavor she chooses to undertake and hope to cross paths with her professionally again
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