LPC, 14 years of experience
Hello, my name is Gina Luera. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (and Supervisor) and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. I specialize in mental health and addiction treatment and Personality Disorders. Aside from this, I am a daughter, a sister, a mother, a yoga teacher, and a writer. I believe that our main purpose in life is to support one another. As my job as your therapist, it is my intention to support you as you evolve into the person that you want to be by helping you come to your own understanding of your life and the direction that you want to go and eliminating thinking and challenges that come to face us as we move through our journey of life. I believe there is a meaning to every situation we encounter and it is up to us to decipher how we can use these situations to help us grow and become the most authentic version of ourselves.
Our first session, or what I call "The Pre-session", is a short meeting for us to get to know one another, discussing what challenges that you are experiencing and to determine if we both feel comfortable and confident in working with each other to get you to creating a plan of action that will get you feeling better and feeling confident in the choices that you are making in your life.
My greatest strengths as a therapist: The belief that we all have the ability to heal ourselves, the belief that we are all here to support one another on our life journey and that I enjoy helping my community experience joy and happiness, and the understanding that family history and culture play a major part in why we are the way we are and how we make our choices in life. As each new generation is born, our values and culture can conflict with how the world is today and that it is my job to help you find clarity and confidence for making choices that best fit you and your life.
I work with adults that may be experiencing mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, substance use and process addictions, and personality disorders. I can also help those that are experiencing difficulty with specific transitions in life such as career challenges, divorce, peri/menopause or what Chinese Medicine calls "The Second Spring" as well as typical relationship transitions.
Psychoanalytic therapy is a method I use with you to explore your past and how it relates to your present thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
When a person experiences sudden transitions in life it can conflict with our lifes' purpose. Existential therapy helps a person to explore their place in the world and the meaning of their life.
Most of us inherit or create beliefs thoughts in early childhood or after life events that alter the way we think and behave. CBT explores the validity of these thoughts and feelings to find more positive or rational ways to think that leads to improved feelings and behavior.
MI is a form of conversational therapy that is used in order for a person to discover what is causing problems in their life and help people find more understanding of their issue, their ambivalence of changing behavior, illicit motivation to change and plan for this change based on your own needs to live a life you deserve.
Humans are smart. We are able to find relief for the pain we experience. Unfortunately, some coping tools we use can be unhealthy. By using a persons' innate strengths, they can find resolutions to problems using these strengths as tools or supports to get healthy relief or support into making more positive lasting changes that lead to improved living. I believe we all have the tools necessary to heal ourselves and can reveal themselves by exploring these with a therapist.
3 ratings with written reviews
May 15, 2025
Gina has a good memory and makes many valid connections. She also uses encouraging language and makes me feel more confident. She's great!
April 18, 2025
Such a good listener, and offered really approachable advice.
March 19, 2025
I am incredibly grateful for the support and guidance provided by Gina. Her authenticity and solution-oriented approach have been nothing short of amazing. Gina has an incredible ability to create a warm and welcoming environment where I feel completely at ease sharing my frustrations without any fear of judgment. Her empathetic listening and thoughtful advice have truly made a positive impact on my journey. Thank you, Gina, for being such an exceptional counselor!