Jessica Oliver, LCSW
Jessica is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Florida Supreme Court-certified Family Mediator, Qualified Parenting Coordinator, Collaborative Divorce Neutral Facilitator, and founder of Calm in Chaos.
She combines nearly a decade of 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.
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.
Credentials and how to verify them
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Florida (License SW18101)
A Florida LCSW since 2021.
Verify: Florida Department of Health, MQA License Verification
Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator (44460 CF)
Verify: Florida Courts Dispute Resolution Center
Qualified parenting coordinator under s. 61.125, Florida Statutes
Verify: listed on the Fifth Judicial Circuit Parenting Coordinator Registry and the Ninth Judicial Circuit Qualified Parenting Coordinator List.
Professional membership
Member, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP)
Member, Next Generation Divorce
Education and teaching
She holds an MSW from the University of Southern California (USC) and a Bachelor of Social Work from Saint Leo University, and she is an adjunct professor in Cleveland State University's MSW program.
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. Trauma-informed 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 The Healing Pod.
Criminal Defense Support
I work with several criminal defense attorneys in and around Dade City, including Christina LaMaida. I provide mitigation assessments, sentencing support, treatment coordination, referrals, documentation of rehabilitation, trauma-informed case consultation, and client support. This includes cases involving domestic violence, battery, child sex crimes, and murder. Any defense attorney or client who needs this support is welcome to contact me.
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.
Military families
Jessica Oliver, LCSW, comes from a military family and understands military life. She is married to Ryan, who served 21 years as an EOD tech in the Air Force.
Military families often live by schedules they do not control. Duty hours change. Moves come with short notice. Parents may spend long stretches apart. Mediation gives both parents a calm, steady place to talk about what comes next.
A parent who is deployed, stationed elsewhere or recently relocated can join by Zoom. Sessions can also be hybrid, with one parent at the Dade City office while the other joins online.
When parents live far apart, following a parenting plan can get harder. As a Qualified Parenting Coordinator, Jessica helps parents carry out the plan they already have and work through disputes as they come up. Parenting coordination can help when ongoing conflict makes the plan hard to follow. A parenting coordinator is appointed by court order, and parents can agree to ask the court for one. It is available by Zoom, so distance does not have to get in the way. Parenting coordination is $250 per hour, billed in 6-minute increments, with a retainer set case by case.
Jessica is neutral and works with both parents equally.
In mediation, Jessica's only role is mediator. Mediation is not therapy, and it is kept apart from her LCSW work. A mediator does not give legal advice. Military families can have legal questions that other families do not, and each parent should take those questions to their own attorney. No two families are alike, and outcomes vary.
Book a free 30-minute call at https://calendly.com/jessicaoliverlcsw/30min. Mediation is $250 per hour with a 2-hour minimum.
Reading this page does not create a professional relationship. This page is general information, not legal advice or individual advice. Outcomes vary.
Can a deployed parent take part in mediation?
Zoom sessions can work when both parents agree to take part. If your case is already filed, whether a remote session meets the court's requirements depends on your court order or a written agreement between the parties. Your attorney or the order itself can answer that. Scheduling is discussed at the first call.