Vanessa Garcia
Vanessa Garcia
(she/her)
I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology, and I’ve dedicated my career to helping people navigate life’s most complex and painful experiences. Over the years, I’ve worked in diverse settings—including dually diagnosed clinics, domestic violence shelters, community-based agencies, and private practice. Each has deepened my understanding of the human experience and strengthened my ability to support clients with a wide range of challenges. My clinical experience includes working with relationship issues, PTSD, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, eating disorders, mood disorders, co-occurring conditions, and other moderate to severe mental health concerns. I approach therapy from a place of warmth, curiosity, and non-judgment. I believe healing begins in spaces where people feel seen, heard, and safe. I was called to this work not only out of a desire to serve others, but from a personal journey of understanding how we make meaning from suffering. In my practice, I aim to help clients reconnect with their inherent worth, step into their “enoughness,” and cultivate deeper, more authentic relationships—with others and with themselves.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In our first session together, we’ll begin with brief introductions and then explore the specific challenges that brought you to therapy. This time is focused on understanding your current concerns, identifying your goals, and beginning to assess your internal resources for healing and growth. Together, we’ll build a foundation of trust and collaboration. My goal is to create a space where you feel safe, respected, and genuinely supported. From this foundation, we’ll develop a tailored plan that aligns with your needs and guides our work in future sessions.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
With over 20 years of experience, I believe that healing is a relational process—and that our minds and bodies are inherently self-healing. You are the medicine. Therapy simply creates the conditions for your healing to unfold. True transformation begins when we turn inward and do the deep work of integrating our stories and experiences. My approach is collaborative, client-centered, and rooted in warmth, compassion, and deep respect for each person’s unique path. I’ve been trained in trauma-informed modalities, mindfulness practices, and cognitive behavioral therapy, all of which support emotional regulation and long-term healing. I also invite clients to engage their imagination and body awareness as tools to help process emotions that might otherwise overwhelm or flood the nervous system. By reconnecting mind and body, we create space for healing that is both meaningful and sustainable.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I work best with individuals who are self-aware, curious, and motivated to engage in meaningful personal work. My clients are often navigating life transitions, relationship challenges, emotional overwhelm, or a persistent sense of feeling stuck. Many are quietly wrestling with anxiety, grief, trauma, or internal patterns that no longer reflect who they want to be. I am especially well-suited to support those who are ready to explore the “why” beneath their struggles—clients who want to integrate their past experiences in order to move toward a more empowered and authentic present. Whether you're working through longstanding emotional wounds, managing a co-occurring diagnosis, or seeking a deeper connection to self, I will meet you with warmth, compassion, and clinically grounded care.
About Vanessa Garcia
I identify as
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Relational
In my work with clients, I draw from relational psychotherapy, weaving together psychodynamic and client-centered approaches that honor the healing power of the therapeutic relationship. I believe we heal collectively, not in isolation, and I strive to create an empowering, attuned space where clients can safely explore their inner world through the depth of the dyadic relationship. My approach is integrative and client-centric, grounded in the belief that transformation often unfolds within meaningful, co-created connection. Relational psychotherapy invites mutual influence, emotional presence, and the exploration of attachment and relational patterns as they emerge in the here-and-now. By engaging authentically and using the therapeutic relationship as a space for repair and regulation, clients can experience new ways of being in relationship—with others and with themselves. With over two decades of experience as a therapist, I incorporate a rich tapestry of evidence-based modalities, including CBT, ACT, mindfulness, and trauma-informed practices. This multifaceted framework supports clients in cultivating a grounded sense of self, reconnecting with their “why,” and consistently returning to a centered, authentic home within. Healing is a dynamic, evolving journey—and I see therapy as a collaborative space where that journey is held, nurtured, and made possible.