Jessica Oliver, LCSW
Jessica is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, a Qualified Parenting Coordinator, and the founder of Calm in Chaos.
She combines nearly a decade of trauma-informed clinical experience with advanced training in collaborative divorce to help Florida families resolve conflict outside of court with clarity, compassion, and dignity.
My Background and Experience
For nearly a decade, I’ve specialized in trauma, high-conflict families, military and first-responder support, and parenting resilience. My clinical career has taken me through some of the most demanding environments in mental health: inpatient psychiatric units, veterans hospitals, schools, domestic violence shelters, and community mental health programs. These were settings where high-conflict dynamics weren’t the exception; they were the daily reality. That work shaped the way I practice today: steady, emotionally intelligent, and rooted in respect for every voice at the table. I learned to hold a calm center in volatile situations, to recognize trauma responses for what they are, and to keep people focused on a path forward. Those are exactly the skills that high-conflict families and divorcing couples need most.
Education and Training
Master of Social Work (MSW), Clinical Social Work — University of Southern California, with a specialization in military trauma
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) — Saint Leo University
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) — State of Florida
Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator.
Advanced training in Collaborative Divorce Practice
Parenting Coordinator serving Florida families under Florida Statute § 61.125
My Approach
I bring a calm, structured presence to emotionally charged situations. Whether you’re navigating separation, building a parenting plan, or struggling to communicate with your co-parent, I offer thoughtful, grounded support at every step. My approach combines legal structure with therapeutic insight, keeping families focused on resolution rather than rivalry. Every voice deserves respect, and every family deserves a path forward that they helped design.
Calm in Chaos
My work sits at the intersection of two worlds that are usually kept separate: the legal structure of mediation and collaborative divorce, and the therapeutic insight of clinical social work.
Bringing them together is what allows me to help families navigate some of the hardest moments of their lives without losing themselves in conflict.
I founded Calm in Chaos after navigating the court system both personally and professionally. I know what it feels like to sit on the other side of the table, to face the uncertainty, the expense, and the emotional weight of a family in transition. That experience shaped a conviction at the heart of my practice: families deserve a path through conflict that protects their dignity, their children, and their future. Litigation rarely offers that. Mediation, collaborative divorce, parenting coordination, and conflict resolution can.
Beyond the Practice
I am an Adjunct Professor at Cleveland State University, where I teach in the Master of Social Work program. I also teach and speak to legal professionals about the mental health dimensions of high-conflict cases. For example, my CLE course “Behind the Behavior: Understanding Mental Health in High-Conflict Legal Cases,” which gives attorneys a trauma-informed lens for working with emotionally dysregulated clients. Sharing this work with the broader legal community is part of how I help shift family conflict toward more humane, effective resolutions.
Clinical Psychologist Megan McCrae, PhD, and I host The Healing Pod, a weekly podcast where we use real-life situations to explore ways to navigate anxiety and cultivate genuine connections, fostering personal growth and progress as we learn to take up space in this world and allow ourselves to be seen.
Links to our podcast are available on our website at https://www.peasinthehealingpod.com/.
Christina LaMaida, Esq.
Recently, I have begun providing mitigation assessments, sentencing support, treatment coordination, referrals, and documentation of rehabilitation, trauma-informed case consultation, and client support for criminal defense attorney Christina LaMaida on cases involving domestic violence, battery, child sex crimes, and murder.
Most importantly, I am a mom. My husband Ryan and I have a blended family of, get this, EIGHT children ranging in age from 4 to 25.
I know firsthand the challenges of navigating high-conflict situations.
If you’re facing conflict, separation, or a difficult transition, you don’t have to figure it out alone. I’d be glad to help you find a calmer way forward.