Rosa Garcia
I am a licensed mental health and substance use professional with extensive experience working across all levels of care, including high-acuity and crisis-driven environments. Throughout my career, I have supported individuals with a wide range of mental health diagnoses, substance use concerns, and complex life circumstances. I have worked within multidisciplinary teams, collaborating with medical providers, case managers, probation officers, and other professionals to ensure coordinated and comprehensive care. My experience allows me to support clients who may need either structured treatment for substance use, ongoing mental health support, or assistance navigating both simultaneously. I bring a flexible, client-centered approach that meets individuals where they are while supporting meaningful and sustainable change.
First session
In the first session, clients can expect a supportive, non-judgmental space focused on getting to know each other and understanding what brings them to therapy. We will talk about current concerns, relevant history, and any immediate needs or goals. I will ask questions to better understand their experiences and begin identifying patterns, strengths, and areas of support. We will also start outlining initial treatment goals and discuss what the therapy process may look like moving forward. The first session is centered on building comfort, connection, and a shared understanding of what the client wants to work on, at a pace that feels manageable for them.
Strengths
What stands out about my therapeutic approach is the way I integrate structure with flexibility, tailoring treatment to each client’s needs while drawing from evidence-based modalities such as CBT, Motivational Interviewing, Brainspotting, and psychodynamic principles. I focus on both immediate stabilization and deeper insight work, depending on where the client is in their process. I bring extensive experience working across all levels of care, including high-acuity and crisis settings, which allows me to remain grounded and effective in complex situations. I also offer bilingual services in Spanish, which helps support clients who feel more comfortable expressing themselves in their primary language. Clients often benefit from a balance of practical skill-building and deeper exploration of underlying patterns, supporting both short-term coping and long-term change. My goal is to help clients build insight, strengthen coping strategies, and create meaningful, sustainable progress toward their goals.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is someone who is willing to engage in self-reflection and is open to working on themselves, even if they are unsure of where to start. I am best positioned to serve individuals who may be struggling with substance use, emotional regulation, trauma, anxiety, or life transitions, but who have a willingness to be honest about their experiences and open to feedback throughout the therapeutic process. I work well with clients who are not necessarily “fixed” or highly motivated at the start, but who are open to building insight, learning new coping skills, and exploring patterns that may be impacting their lives. My approach supports individuals who are ready to take accountability for their growth while also needing structure, support, and guidance along the way. The clients I serve best are those who are open to change, even if they are still developing clarity about what that change looks like.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in my practice because it is a structured, evidence-based approach that helps clients understand the connection between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. My experience with CBT has focused on supporting individuals in identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and developing more balanced and adaptive ways of interpreting situations, which in turn leads to healthier behavioral responses. In practice, I use CBT by helping clients increase awareness of automatic thoughts, challenge cognitive distortions, and build practical coping strategies they can apply in daily life. This includes guided discussion, thought reframing exercises, and skill-building work such as problem-solving and behavioral activation. I find CBT particularly effective in supporting clients with substance use, anxiety, and mood-related challenges because it is both structured and practical, allowing clients to see measurable progress over time.
Brainspotting
I incorporate Brainspotting into my practice because it is a focused, neuroscience-informed approach that helps clients access and process unresolved trauma and emotional distress that may be stored in the brain and body. My experience with Brainspotting has shown it to be particularly effective for clients who struggle to verbally access or fully express the root of their emotional pain. In my practice, I use Brainspotting by helping clients identify eye positions (brainspots) that correlate with emotional activation while maintaining a grounded, supportive therapeutic environment. This allows clients to process experiences at a deeper, somatic level, often beyond what traditional talk therapy alone can reach. I find it especially useful in supporting individuals with trauma histories, substance use disorders, and emotional dysregulation, as it promotes internal processing, emotional release, and increased regulation over time.
Motivational Interviewing
client-centered, collaborative approach that helps individuals explore and resolve ambivalence about change. My experience with MI has shown that people are more likely to engage in meaningful change when they feel understood, respected, and supported rather than pressured or confronted. In practice, I use MI by asking open-ended questions, using reflective listening, and highlighting client strengths to help them clarify their own motivations for change. I focus on eliciting “change talk” and supporting clients in identifying their personal goals and values. This approach is especially effective in working with substance use and behavioral change, as it strengthens internal motivation and empowers clients to take ownership of their recovery process.
Psychodynamic
I use psychodynamic approaches in my practice because they help clients explore how early life experiences and unconscious patterns influence current thoughts, emotions, relationships, and behaviors. My experience with this method has shown that gaining insight into these underlying dynamics can be an important part of long-term emotional healing and behavior change. In practice, I use psychodynamic concepts by helping clients reflect on recurring patterns, relationship dynamics, and emotional responses that may be connected to past experiences. Through open-ended exploration and therapeutic dialogue, clients are supported in increasing self-awareness and understanding the “why” behind their behaviors. I find this approach particularly helpful for clients working through trauma, attachment issues, and longstanding emotional struggles, as it supports deeper insight and personal growth over time.