Saira Patino
Hey bestie! 👋🏼💛 I’m Saira Patino, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and I know how hard it can be to take care of your mental health when you’ve spent most of your life being the strong one. Maybe you’re the responsible daughter, the fixer, the peacekeeper, the one everyone calls when something goes wrong. You love your family, but sometimes the expectations, guilt, and pressure can feel like a lot. And somewhere between taking care of everyone else, working, relationships, and trying to keep it all together… you may have lost a little bit of you.
Sessions with me feel more like talking with your homegirl; someone who truly listens, keeps it honest, and holds space for both the deep stuff and a few laughs when we need them.
That’s where therapy comes in. I work primarily with women—especially Latinas and first-gen women—navigating anxiety, depression, burnout, heartbreak, relationship stress, low self-esteem, family dynamics, attachment wounds, and people-pleasing. And sí, we can talk about what happened this week, but we’re also going to dig a little deeper. Why is saying “no” so uncomfortable? Why does disappointing someone make you feel guilty? Why do you overthink that text for 3 hours? Why are you always worried someone is mad at you? And why are you giving everyone else grace while being so hard on yourself? My style is warm, direct, relatable, and practical. There will be validation, humor, honest conversations, and actual tools you can use outside of therapy. No judgment and no expectation that you have to have it all figured out. You’ve spent enough time showing up for everybody else. Let’s make some space for you, too. 💛
First session
In our first session, we’ll take some time to get to know each other. Don’t stress if it’s your first time—I actually love working with therapy newbies because I get to set the bar pretty high! I’ll walk you through how therapy works, go over expectations and policies, and start exploring what’s bringing you in. No pressure to spill it all at once—we’ll go at your pace, and I’ll make sure you feel supported every step of the way.
Strengths
I’ve been in the mental health field since 2010 and transitioned into clinical therapy in 2019. If you’re picturing a stiff, overly formal therapist who just nods and asks, “How does that make you feel?” the whole time — yeah, that’s not me. My style is warm, casual, direct, and very real. Therapy with me can feel like talking to one of your besties — someone who listens deeply, keeps it honest, helps you connect the dots, and is not afraid to laugh with you when we need to. I use humor, I cuss sometimes, and I create a space where you don’t have to perform, pretend, or have it all together. Clinically, I use an eclectic and evidence-based approach tailored to you. My work often includes CBT, DBT-informed interventions, Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, trauma-informed care, attachment-informed therapy, mindfulness, and some grounded spiritual elements when it fits for you. Together, we’ll work on understanding your patterns, regulating emotions, setting boundaries, quieting the guilt, and building tools you can actually use outside of session. Bottom line: we’ll blend real tools with real talk, and build a plan that fits you — not the other way around.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is someone navigating anxiety, depression, burnout, relationship stress, family pressure, cultural expectations, or the exhaustion of always having to “keep it together.” You might be in your 20s figuring out adulthood, in your 30s balancing work, family, and everyone else’s needs, or in your 40s realizing it’s finally time to choose yourself. A lot of my clients are first-gen Latinas, daughters of immigrants, working moms, college students, professionals, and mujeres who are tired of being, "la fuerte, la responsable, la que no dice no, la que tiene que poder con todo." Maybe you’re carrying guilt, people-pleasing, overthinking, toxic relationship patterns, family pressure, or the fear of disappointing everyone around you. My ideal client wants more than just a space to vent. We can absolutely vent, cry, laugh, and say “what the hell is happening?” when life be life-ing🥴 — but we’ll also connect the dots. We’ll look at your thoughts, triggers, relationships, family dynamics, and the survival patterns that may have helped you before but are now keeping you stuck. Therapy with me is warm, honest, casual, and real. It can feel like talking to your comadre or one of your besties — except your bestie has clinical training, coping skills, and will lovingly call you out when needed. I use humor, I cuss sometimes, and I’ll help you build tools you can actually use outside of session. Aquí no tienes que ser la fuerte todo el tiempo! Healing doesn’t mean becoming someone else — it means coming home to yourself. I gotchu 😉
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use CBT in a real-life, down-to-earth way by helping clients connect the dots between their thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationship patterns. In sessions, we slow things down and look at the story you may be telling yourself — especially around anxiety, guilt, people-pleasing, rejection, family pressure, or feeling like you’re “too much” or “not enough.” My style is warm, direct, and collaborative; we challenge unhelpful thinking, reframe harsh self-talk, and build tools that help you respond with more confidence, self-compassion, and menos culpa.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I use DBT-informed therapy by helping clients build practical skills for those moments when emotions feel intense, overwhelming, or like they’re about to take over. In sessions, we work on slowing things down, identifying triggers, naming emotions, tolerating distress, setting boundaries, and responding intentionally instead of reacting from survival mode. I keep it real, relatable, and sometimes humorous — because learning skills like mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness should actually make sense in your everyday life, whether you’re dealing with relationship drama, family guilt, work stress, or a “ya no puedo más” kind of day.
Trauma Informed Care
I use trauma-informed care by creating a space where clients can finally exhale and not feel judged for the ways they’ve had to survive, cope, or keep it together. Together, we explore how past experiences, family dynamics, cultural expectations, toxic relationships, rejection wounds, or generational patterns may be showing up in your anxiety, boundaries, self-worth, people-pleasing, and relationships today.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
I use Solution-Focused Therapy by helping clients identify what they want life to look like, what is already working, and what small steps can move them closer to feeling better. In sessions, we focus on strengths, progress, exceptions to the problem, and realistic next steps instead of staying stuck in the “why am I like this?” spiral. We’ll still make space for the hard stuff, but we’ll also look at what’s within your control, what you can do differently, and how to build momentum one paso at a time.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
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Serves
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Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 120582