Hello, and thank you for considering me to be your therapist! I am a bilingual (English and Spanish) Licensed Clinical Mental Health and Addictions Therapist, as well as a clinical supervisor in NC and Licensed Professional Counselor in VA. I have over 10 years of experience as a licensed therapist, and over 20 years of experience in the mental health field, in various capacities. I am also a certified personal fitness trainer, corrective movement specialist, and fitness nutrition specialist, as well as a certified meditation teacher, and a certified yoga instructor. I recently started working on a 1000 hour Ayurvedic medicine practitioner certification. Therapy is genuinely a love of mine, and I am very invested in walking alongside clients on their journey. My therapeutic approach is person-centered with an existential and humanistic focus. I treat trauma, complex trauma, depression, anxiety, other mood disorders, and addictions in adolescents and adults. I believe that people can change and grow to their fullest potential when given a safe space to explore what is creating limiting beliefs in their lives and holding them back from seeing the magic in life.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
As a client, you can expect our first session to be centered around gathering information that will help me better understand what your struggles are, and which treatment approach is best suited to help you. The comprehensive clinical assessment tool used to gather information allows us to work together to develop a person-centered treatment plan that focuses on your strengths and improves upon the areas you are struggling with.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Compassion and empathy are my greatest strenghts! I know therapy is a process and the journey can be painful. I am not in a hurry and I walk alongside each person at their pace. I want every client to feel safe, seen, and heard every time!
About Lorena Gonzalez
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1977 J N Pease Place, Charlotte, NC, USA, Suite 104Appointments
Virtual & in-personMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I have been using CBT to treat mental health and addiction struggles for almost a decade. CBT helps clients better understand how their thoughts, feelings and behaviors interact with each other to cause the symptoms they are experiencing. Examining all three in session usually helps teach clients how to better manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to decrease and control the symptoms they are experiencing.
Existential
As an existential therapist, I approach session by helping clients gain insight about their capacity for self-awareness, accept the responsibility that comes with freedom, understand their unique identity that can only be known through relationships with others, and recognize that they must continually recreate themselves. I also help them accept that the meaning of life is never fixed, but constantly changes, anxiety is part of the human condition, and death is a basic human condition that gives significance to life. An existential approach to therapy allows me to help clients explore life's difficulties from a philosophical perspective, and encourage them to take responsibility for their success. Clients will be encouraged to explore their existence, use their voice to help express their own views, and challenge assumptions and contradictions. Philosophical questions, such as "Why am I here?" or "What do I value in life?" will provide clients invaluable insight about the ways they view meaning and purpose in their lives, and whether they are engaging in ways that allow them to live in their meaning and purpose.
Humanistic
Humanistic approach to therapy allows me to focus on the uniqueness of each client. I will use unstructured interviews, observation, and open-ended questionnaires to understand how you think and feel. Treatment is tailored to the individual, and you play an active role in guiding your treatments. Humanistic therapy is holistic, so it covers many different aspects of your life, but it tends to focus more on the present rather than the past.
Mind-body approach
With Mind–body techniques (also called psychological techniques, emotional therapies or spiritual healing) I combine my mediation and yoga training techniques, as well as my physical fitness education to elevate the mental health and addictions modalities used in session. Examples of mind–body techniques that I may use in session include guided imagery, yoga breathing and stretches, mindfulness meditation, mindfulness-based stress reduction, music therapy, relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation, posture and body movement assessment, and spiritual practices that examine ways in which emotions impact specific organs and body regions.