Jacob Wankel, PsyD

Dr. Jacob Wankel is a licensed psychologist and graduate of Pacific University’s school of graduate psychology program with an emphasis in child and family practice. He specializes in working with neurodiverse children and adolescents in both comprehensive psychological evaluations and individual/family therapy. Dr. Wankel completed both his internship and his post-doctoral residency at the Children’s Program and focused his training on developing his clinical interventions and evaluation abilities in working with neurodiverse youth. He also obtained targeted training for disruptive behavioral interventions such as Parent Child Interaction Therapy. His therapeutic approach is grounded in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and incorporates work within the individual’s interpersonal relationships and attachments from a systemic perspective. He prefers to work collaboratively with the client and family to best support the family system in its entirety. Dr. Wankel continues to strive to develop a warm and compassionate therapeutic relationship with both the client and client’s family to help all feel safe and heard throughout the therapy process.

During his training years, he completed a variety of training practicums including those at the Pacific Psychology & Comprehensive Health Clinic, where he provided individual therapy and family therapy with children and adolescents; and at Family Ties Counseling center providing couples therapy, adult individual therapy, adolescent individual therapy, and family therapy for clients with varying clinical concerns and a range of clinical complexities. Further, Dr. Wankel completed an initial training year at the Children’s program which focused on obtaining competency with evaluating and assessing for learning disorders, ADHD, and intellectual disabilities. Dr. Wankel was then employed as a part time psychometrist during which he was able to utilize these competencies to gather psychometric testing information to help inform the licensed psychologist’s diagnostic interpretations.

When he is not at work, Dr. Wankel enjoys long-distance running, hiking, cheering on the Minnesota Vikings, playing Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering with friends, and continuing to try to work out a way to prevent his cat Kiwi from jumping on the kitchen counters (which has been a losing battle for over 3 years…)