Meet Jessica Correnti, MS, CCLS
“I’m here to empower caregivers, giving them the tools to support their children and teens through life’s bumps, stressors, and tragedies. Together we can give them the tools to process and heal.”
Jessica is a Certified Child Life Specialist with 16 years of experience in the healthcare setting, specializing in providing psychosocial and emotional support to children and families facing stress and anxiety related to illness, hospitalization, and the death of a loved one.
Her work began in a pediatric cardiovascular ICU at All Children’s Hospital in St Petersburg, FL. She has also worked at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in the PICU and perioperative unit as well as Greater Baltimore Medical Center in the pediatric ER, pediatric inpatient unit, and outpatient surgery center.
She obtained a Bachelors in Education of Young Children with a minor in Psychology from UNC Wilmington and a Masters in Healthcare Administration and Community Health from Towson University.
Jessica has a passion for supporting children going through difficult life experiences. This passion was amplified after she and her family (pictured here) personally went through several miscarriages and the stillbirth of their little girl, Maggie. She specializes in supporting families through pregnancy, infant, and child loss. She has supported families going through a large variety of losses related to death, life-changing events, and new diagnoses.
The Maryland Chapter of The TEARS Foundation was founded by Jessica in 2018. She assisted with raising over $240,000 to provide financial and emotional assistance to bereaved families.
She runs several grief support groups including a bereaved sibling group and a parent support group for pregnancy and infant loss. Jessica collaborates with and supports bereaved families throughout the United States and internationally. Through her work experience and volunteering she has provided end-of-life and ongoing grief support to hundreds of families.
Jessica published the book, Forever Connected, a book for bereaved siblings in August 2022, The ABCs of Grief in February 2024, and has two more books that are in production right now.
What is Child Life?
Child life interventions utilize an in depth knowledge of child development, the impact of stressful life events, therapeutic play, education, and collaboration with a child’s support system to aid in optimal coping.
“Children today confront a wide variety of stressful and potentially traumatic events that may overwhelm their natural ability to cope and heal. Difficult or unexpected experiences, such as chronic illness, hospitalization, the death of a loved one, or the aftermath of violent acts or natural disasters are upsetting for everyone involved. Children are particularly vulnerable, and parents or other responsible adults may feel unsure of their ability to help children to successfully understand and manage these experiences.
Child life intervention minimizes both the immediate and potential long-term effects of stress, anxiety and psychosocial trauma, ultimately empowering children, families and their support systems to reach their full potential. Certified child life specialists are uniquely educated and trained to provide children, families and their support systems opportunities to cope, gain a sense of mastery, engage in self-expression and promote resiliency.” (ACLP, 2018)
Jessica’s Specific Child Life Areas of Expertise and Focus
Death, Grief, and Loss (Sibling Loss, Miscarriage, TFMR, Stillbirth, Infant Loss, Child Loss, Parental Loss, Preparation for what to expect and coping with Funerals, Preparation for what to expect and coping with impending Pet Loss)
Memory Making, Keepsake creation, and legacy building during and after end of life
Major life transitions, which is a form of loss/grief (new medical diagnosis for child or family member, moving, natural disasters, etc.)
Therapeutic Play
Child Development
Evidence-based practice
Jessica adheres to the ethical guidelines set by the ACLP. They can be found here as well as standards of clinical practice found here.