Licensed to practice in California and accepts 1 insurance. Specializes in LGBTQ, Life Transitions, Trauma and PTSD and 8 more.
Aleida Moreno
(they/them)
New to Grow
Hello! I'm Aleida Moreno (they/them), a non-binary and queer therapist based in Oakland, CA . My practice, Raíz Psychotherapy, is deeply grounded in the understanding of how systemic issues of the world we live in play major roles in our mental health. By acknowledging the systemic, we can dive deeper in our work together to explore the factors influencing your day-to-day life to better support you in meeting your therapeutic goals. I love to work with people who are motivated to engage in therapy, and that can look many different ways. Sometimes motivation manifests as curiosity to look at certain patterns or areas of your life in new ways, it can also look like knowing exactly what changes you want to make in your life and knowing it's time to start that work, and or others being motivated looks like finally taking the big step to ask for support. Regardless of how motivation looks for you, if this resonates with you, we can do great work together to get to the root of your experience and create change.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
After reviewing any questions you might have about paperwork or policies, our first session will be focused on getting to know one another. We will go over your goals for our time together and can talk through how you might want to feel in the future, any actions you feel motivated to take, or areas of your life you want to explore in therapy. Together, we will set goals or intentions for our work together. I will ask you about previous experiences in therapy and leave ample time for you to ask any questions that might be important for you to know about your therapist.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I have worked in the mental health field for the last ten years of my life and for the last six years my work has been in the capacity of a therapist. Before that I worked in classroom counselor, sexual and domestic violence advocate, and case management roles in community mental health. I have worked with people of all ages including children as young as 3 and people in their 70s in a wide range of setting including classrooms, emergency rooms, hotlines, LGBTQ+ Centers, and both virtual and in-person therapy offices. My lived experiences and pre-graduate education together with my career in community mental health has given me a decolonial and systems-aware perspective that strongly informs the way I support others through therapy. I believe that in order to deeply understand someone, it is important to get a holistic view of their life experiences and their own perspective on the ways that they are impacted by the systems of oppressions in this day and age. Acknowledging the reality of the times we are living in ensures that in the therapy room, you can feel more at ease to explore mental health in a way that feels authentic and free of judgement.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
*LGBTQ+ identified individuals wanting support with issues including but not limited to: relational issues with family, romantic partners, or platonic relationships, processing childhood, complex, or systemic traumatic experiences * People who identify as Latine/a/o and BIPoC who want specialized, culturally-sensitive support around issues including but not limited to intergenerational trauma, first generation family issues, the impacts of immigration and acculturation across generations * Relational Constellations of all kinds including friendships, monogamous couples ,people in non-monogamous relationships of all configurations, parents wanting to improve their relationships with their adult children(or the other way around) who want to work on relational issues. * Individuals seeking psychedelic and/or spiritual integration. Perhaps you've had an experience in an altered state of consciousness that still feels like it needs attention. Altered states of consciousness typically include states influenced by: substances, spiritual awakenings, or near-death-experiences. Please note that use of any substances in not allowed during session, this is simply a space to process these experiences.
Specialties
Top specialties
LGBTQ
Life Transitions
Trauma and PTSD
Other specialties
Domestic Violence
Eating Disorders
Family Conflict
Peer Relationships
Racism
Sexual Abuse
Substance Misuse
Suicidal Ideation
I identify as
Hispanic / Latinx
LGBTQ
Non binary
Person of Color (POC)
Licensed in
California
Accepts
Cash - $155 per session
Location
Virtual
My treatment methods
Eclectic
My eclectic therapeutic style draws from a variety of modalities. I draw from psychodynamic theory and utilize somatic techniques that I blend with knowledge from emotionally-focused therapy (EFT) as well as other evidence-based models. When incorporating techniques from dialectical behavioral, cognitive behavioral, or acceptance and commitment therapy techniques, I like to combine the evidence-based interventions with client-centered and holistic methods to ensure that the each client's individual set of strengths and experiences is honored as we work together towards their goals.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
I completed training for Emotionally-Focused Therapy with Couples and am excited to work with couples using this particular modality. EFT is based on attachment theory and support couples in reconnecting and working together to build more secure attachment to the people they love. EFT is also a valuable modality for individuals who are looking for support around their relationships with others and are open to looking at relationships through an attachment lens. I love EFT because it is non-pathologizing and works to get to the root of relational issues.
Trauma Informed Care
My decade of experience in community mental health as well as 6 years of working as a therapist with people who have experienced complex trauma in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood makes it impossible for me to work in a way that is not trauma informed. To me, providing trauma-informed care means being aware of all of the many external factors that can influence how we shape or thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and relationships. Sometimes providing trauma-informed care means going slower in sessions, not requiring you to disclose details of your trauma to successfully help guide you in healing from the effects of your experience, or being real about how messed up the world feels in this moment and sitting with you in that pain.
Gender-affirming therapy
Both my personal and professional life make providing gender-affirming therapy absolutely necessary to my practice. I value co-creating a therapeutic relationship where my clients can feel comfortable expressing and exploring themselves authentically. I have been working with trans and non-binary folks for the entirety of my career in the field of mental health. I have experience providing trainings to largely cisgender and heterosexual audiences about creating more gender-affirming environments in schools, workplaces, and in their lives as a whole. It really matters to me that everyone's authentic self expression is honored, through all of its iterations.
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
Another core value of my practice is involving culturally sensitive therapy to every client I have the joy of working with. I really love working with other BIPoC to process the effects of racism, classism, sexism, colorism, xenophobia, transphobia and homophobia in a way that holds the complexities of every individual's unique cultural context. I have experience providing therapy services in Spanish and hope to get a chance to do that more often.