About

I am a seasoned therapist with 23 years experience working with clients with all kinds of problems and issues. There is nothing you can tell me that will shock me.
I would like to tell you about my background as a therapist. I grew up in a traditional Latinx family with a Cuban father who had set views about girls and the opportunities that should be given to them. After reading Carol Gilligan’s powerful study of how girls internalize society’s messages that they are expected to be compliant and submissive, not demonstrating intelligence, aggression or ambition, I decided to study how to help adolescents to realize their potential, not realizing that I was studying myself and my family! After getting my MSW, I worked in children’s residential treatment and trained as a Structural Family Therapist. I then moved to outpatient clinical treatment of adults with mental and behavioral disorders. I began to do assessments of alcohol and substance use and discovered that we cannot separate out mental or behavioral issues from alcohol and substance misuse. How experience affects addiction, especially trauma history including emotional abandonment and neglect and their effects on attachment, are issues I am familiar with. I work with different forms of treatment including Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Therapy and Mindfulness Based Therapies. My clients tell me that I am empathic, compassionate and soothing to them, and that having someone in their corner has made all the difference in their complicated lives.