Licensed to practice in Florida and accepts 14 insurances. Specializes in ADHD, Anxiety, Life Transitions and 9 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
Hi, I'm Clarisa, a licensed therapist (LMHC) based in Florida. I was born in Venezuela and grew up in Miami, and I work with a lot of clients who are navigating identity, family expectations, or the push and pull of straddling two cultures, because I've lived that too. Outside the therapy room, you'll usually find me working out, cooking recipes I see on social media, spending time with friends and family, or unapologetically binging a TV show. I'm bilingual in English and Spanish, currently finishing my Doctorate in Psychology, and I also have a background in psychological evaluations, but what matters more day to day is that I show up curious, warm, and genuinely in your corner, not just taking notes.
No pressure to have it all figured out on day one. We'll talk about what's bringing you in, what's felt hard lately, and what you're hoping shifts. If you're not totally sure why you're here yet, that's normal, and honestly a lot of people start that way. I think of us as a team: you know your life better than anyone, my job is to help you make sense of it and figure out what's next. The only ask from my end is that you come willing to try, and that you go at your own pace, not someone else's!
I don't believe in one size fits all therapy, so instead of sticking to a single method, I pull from a few different approaches depending on what actually helps you. Sometimes that's practical, thought pattern work. Sometimes it's learning to sit with hard emotions instead of pushing them away. Sometimes it's just having someone challenge you gently when you're stuck. I can hold space when you need to just be heard, and push back when you need that too. I also have a background in psychological evaluations, including ADHD, autism, immigration related assessments, and memory concerns. My therapy practice and my evaluation work are separate, testing is done under the supervision of a doctor through his practice, so if formal testing is something you're interested in, that's a great thing to bring up in our consultation and I can point you in the right direction. As a bilingual Venezuelan therapist, I bring real lived understanding to clients navigating identity, acculturation, family dynamics, or the stress that comes with immigration, whether that's the emotional weight of the process itself or adjusting to life in a new country, on top of years working across ages and backgrounds.
I work well with teens, college students, and adults dealing with anxiety, depression, ADHD, or self-esteem struggles, especially people in the middle of a big life shift: starting college, changing careers, moving, or just trying to figure out who they are while juggling family, school, or early career pressure. I also work with clients on emotional regulation and executive functioning (things like follow-through, focus, and feeling scattered, which often show up alongside ADHD), as well as body image and how you see yourself. I'm also a good fit if you're working through relationship stuff and want a space to think out loud without judgment, navigating what an ADHD or autism diagnosis means for your life, or adjusting to a new culture or country and figuring out where you fit.
My approach is eclectic, meaning I don't believe one framework works for everyone, so I draw from several depending on what will genuinely help you. The main treatment methods I use are broken down in more detail below.
Some things can't be fixed or avoided, they just have to be felt. I help you get better at sitting with hard emotions instead of numbing out or pushing through, while also getting clear on what actually matters to you so your day to day starts lining up with your values instead of your anxiety.
A lot of what keeps us stuck is the loop of automatic thoughts we don't even notice we're having. I help you slow that down, spot the patterns, and figure out which thoughts are actually true versus which ones are just loud. This isn't about "fixing" your problem, it's about thinking more accurately so your reactions start to match what's actually happening instead of what you're afraid is happening.
You're the expert on your own life, not me! This shows up as a genuine, non-judgmental presence in session, I'm not there to diagnose you from a script, I'm there to actually get to know you and let that shape how we work together.
Therapy isn't just about picking apart what's wrong. I also want to know what's working, what you're already good at, and how to build on that, instead of treating you like a list of symptoms.