M. Ivonne Villegas
Thank you for taking the first step to your well-being. I am a bilingual therapist. I work with diverse individuals from a wide range of ages, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and backgrounds. I practice from an eclectic approach, integrating strength-based, client-centered, solution-focused, and emotion-focused methods while focusing on fostering resilience and self-awareness. My goal is to help you build on your strengths and develop tools that support lasting change. I work with individuals, families, and couples navigating anxiety, depression, self-esteem, life transitions, grief, trauma, behavioral issues, career concerns, domestic violence, LGBTQ+ issues, first-generation challenges, and immigration adjustments.
First session
In our first session, I greet you warmly and create a comfortable atmosphere. I invite you to share your reasons for seeking therapy, including specific challenges and life concerns. I may ask background questions to understand your history and see if we're a good fit to work together.
Strengths
As a first-generation immigrant, I grew up with challenges around access to resources and mental health support. The acculturation process felt heavy, and it took years to understand my anxiety. My own healing journey led me to a profession where I help others through difficult times. I approach goal setting in a thoughtful, collaborative way. This starts by building trust and establishing a supportive environment. Over time, I encourage self-reflection to help you clarify your values, priorities, and what you hope to achieve.
Ideal clients
In our first session, I greet you warmly and create a comfortable atmosphere. I invite you to share your reasons for seeking therapy, including specific challenges and life concerns. I may ask background questions to understand your history and see if we're a good fit to work together. I enjoy working with clients that are committed to their growth and healing journey by honoring their time on a consistent basis.
Treatment methods
Attachment-based
In our therapeutic relationship, I will create a secure, reliable and safe anchor by responding with empathy and consistency to counter old fears of rejection. I would also help you explore early patterns that look at childhood relationships with primary caregivers and connect past attachment styles to current adult behaviors. In collaboration we can work to identify anxious, avoidant, or disorganized reactions in daily life. I can help name and soothe difficult feelings instead of avoiding them and practice possible new ways of relating.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
I would help client identify, accept, and transform deep-seated emotions instead of hiding from them. This method focuses on stabilization that occurs when the therapeutic alliance is a safe space that would help emotional balances. We would then work on restructuring which is a phase of tapping into vulnerabilities, possible primary fears, and/or unmet attachment needs. Finalized by consolidation, which I would help client to Integrate new changes into a healthier self-view and stable relational patterns.
Strength-Based
Strength-Based I utilize strength-based therapy, which focuses on identifying and leveraging clients inherent strengths, resources, and resilience to help them overcome challenges and reach their goals. Rather than concentrating solely on problems or weaknesses, my approach highlights the positive qualities they already possess such as, coping skills, past successes, or personal values etc. I believe that everyone has the capacity for growth, and by focusing on clients strengths, we can work together to build confidence and empower clients to make meaningful change.
Location
Virtual sessions
In-person sessions5150 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90804, 2nd floor