Ruth Clavelo
I want to support you in gaining agency over your life. Together, we will work to optimize your physical and mental well-being using practical tools that blend seamlessly into your daily routine. Using a strength-based, whole-person care approach, I pair my own lived experience with practices from CBT, DBT, Mindfulness, and SMART Recovery to help you build sustainable personal growth. I am bilingual in English and Spanish, and I offer flexible early morning and evening appointments
First session
Our first session is a gentle, low-pressure space focused entirely on getting to know you. We will explore what brings you to therapy, what you hope to achieve, and how we can best work together to build your self-agency. There is no right or wrong way to share your story; we will go at a pace that feels completely comfortable and safe for you.
Strengths
My approach stands out because it brings together the best of both worlds: years of advanced clinical training and the deep empathy of personal lived experience. In our sessions, you get both deep clinical knowledge and a warm, down-to-earth partnership. I blend evidence based practices into practical, real-world frameworks that adapt to your specific needs. My goal is to create a safe, validating environment where you can rediscover your inner strength and build lasting resilience. Sessions are available: early morning, evenings and weekends. I am bilingual and English and Spanish.
Ideal clients
If you are ready to release the past, understand yourself deeper, and create lasting change, we will work well together. Life can bring overwhelming moments of chronic stress, trauma, or major transitions. I help you reclaim ownership of your life. Many of my clients navigate deep-rooted relationship conflicts, low self-esteem, imposter syndrome, or struggle with the complexities of recovery or life transitions.
Treatment methods
Eclectic
Because no two people experience suffering or healing in the exact same way, I utilize an eclectic therapeutic approach. This means I draw dynamically from a diverse clinical toolkit to meet your specific needs in real time. For instance, we might use psychoanalysis to explore the deep-rooted origins of your relational patterns, apply Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to give you practical, day-to-day coping strategies for anxiety, and integrate mindfulness to help you stay grounded through stress. By blending these distinct modalities with the non-judgmental principles of harm reduction and SMART Recovery, your therapy is entirely customized to support your unique path to self-agency and lasting wellness.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
When we work with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), we look at the powerful connection between your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions. Life complexities and stress often trap us in automatic, negative thinking loops that fuel anxiety and depression. Together, we will gently examine these thoughts, test their accuracy, and reshape them into perspectives that serve you better. CBT is incredibly practical; it provides you with tangible, day-to-day tools—such as mindfulness grounding techniques, behavioral activation, and cognitive restructuring—so you can actively manage distress outside of our sessions and build immediate relief
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
I integrate mindfulness into our work to help you step out of overwhelming survival loops and find solid ground in the present moment. When we experience trauma, anxiety, or deep stress, our minds tend to get trapped in painful past memories or future worries. Through simple, accessible mindfulness practices—such as breath awareness, somatic grounding, and mindful observation—I help you pause and steady your nervous system. This practice teaches you how to observe your thoughts and emotions with compassion and curiosity, rather than instantly reacting to them. By slowing things down, we create the clarity you need to make intentional choices and reclaim control over your life
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Hispanic / Latinx
Woman
Top specialties
Grief
Life Transitions
Women's Issues
Other specialties
Anger Management
Anxiety
Coping Skills
Depression
LGBTQ
Older Adults
Parenting
Peer Relationships
Self Esteem
Substance Misuse
Serves
Adults (18 to 64)
Individual Therapy
Man
Non-binary
Transgender
Woman
Doesn't specialize in
Couples Counseling
Licensed in
CaliforniaLicense 122550