Regina Medina, LCSW - Therapist at Grow Therapy

Regina Medina

Regina Medina

(she/her)

LCSW
35 years of experience
Virtual

Hi, I’m Regina, and I’m here to listen and support you with kindness and understanding. With over 35 years of experience as a Clinical Social Worker, I’ve walked alongside children, adolescents, families, and adults facing life-threatening illnesses and chronic conditions. I’ve also provided compassionate employee assistance counseling, private case management (ACMA) consultation, and psychotherapy — all aimed at helping you navigate crises, mental health challenges, and assessments with care and expertise. My goal is to help you find healing, hope, and personal growth as you build resilience for a healthier future. In our work together, I prioritize creating a safe and nurturing space where your individual story matters deeply. I practice trauma-informed therapy, which means I honor the ways stress and trauma shape your experience while gently exploring their roots. My specializations include medical, perinatal, legal, and workplace-related stress or trauma, all approached with empathy and respect to support your healing journey. Single Session Therapy (SST) is available for brief counseling support. References Yadav G, McNamara S, Gunturu S. Trauma-Informed Therapy. [Updated 2024 Aug 16]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih

Get to know me

In our first session together, here's what you can expect

In our first session, we’ll gently begin by getting to know each other, creating a space where you feel heard and supported. If you feel comfortable, we can explore some mindfulness-based practices or breathing exercises together to help bring you a sense of calm and presence. Then, we’ll gently explore the specific challenges you’re facing right now. Together, we will create a personalized plan with meaningful goals that reflect your needs, guiding us in the sessions to come with care and intention.

The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions

Building a meaningful and trusting therapeutic relationship with you is the heart of the support I offer and the most important strength I bring into our shared space. At the core of this connection is trust and mutual respect, so you can feel safe, secure, and comfortable enough to openly share your thoughts and feelings. I hold a deep commitment to approaching our time together with empathy and without judgment, creating a gentle space where you are free to explore your experiences honestly and without fear. Together, we’ll collaborate closely—defining goals and planning your care with clear communication and mutual understanding. Boundaries will be respectfully maintained to safeguard your well-being, while our focus remains fully on your needs: nurturing your resilience, encouraging healing across mind and body, and fostering hope and renewal. Throughout this process, my commitment to professional integrity and confidentiality ensures a safe, trustworthy environment where healing and positive change can truly take root.

The clients I'm best positioned to serve

I deeply honor those who, despite feeling vulnerable, show incredible bravery and motivation to overcome the obstacles that keep them from living their fullest, most meaningful life. My work focuses on supporting you through past and present medical trauma, personal or social, legal, justice related trauma, and the stresses and challenges that arise in the workplace, with gentle care and understanding. I also specialize in perinatal mood and anxiety conditions, including the profound experiences of NICU, loss, grief, and bereavement during the perinatal period, offering compassionate support every step of the way. Last, I specialize in brief treatment for first responders, physicians, nurses, respiratory therapist, rehab therapist, medical social workers, healthcare workers and administrators feeling overwhelmed, undervalued, those experiencing forms of burnout, fatigue, depression, anxiety or relationship issues in need of processing or debriefing after medical crisis.

About Regina Medina

Appointments

Virtual

My treatment methods

Trauma Informed Care

Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a compassionate approach that respects your past experiences and uses that understanding to provide mental health support tailored to you. I recognize how important it is to honor your life story to offer care that is effective, avoids re-traumatization, and thoughtfully integrates knowledge about trauma and the body’s response to stress in every session. At the heart of trauma-informed care are five guiding principles: safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment. These principles are designed to create a nurturing and healing space where you feel supported, valued, and in control as you move forward from trauma and stress. Together, these values help build an environment where your well-being is the priority, allowing healing to unfold at your own pace with respect and gentle care.

Dialectical Behavior (DBT)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a form of psychotherapy designed to help individuals regulate intense emotions, navigate difficult situations, and build healthier relationships. It centers on teaching skills across four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

EMDR

EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms. Ongoing research supports positive clinical outcomes, showing EMDR therapy as a helpful treatment for disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences. References Maxfield, L. (2019). A clinician’s guide to the efficacy of EMDR therapy. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research [Editorial], 13(4), 239-246. Shapiro, F., & Forrest, M. S. (2016). EMDR: The breakthrough therapy for overcoming anxiety, stress, and trauma. Hachette UK Van der Kolk, B.A., Spinazzola, J., Blaustein, M.E., Hopper, J.W., Hopper, E.K., Korn, D. L., & Simpson, W.B. (2007). A randomized clinical trial of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), fluoxetine, and pill placebo in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: treatment effects and long-term maintenance. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68(1), 37-46.

Motivational Interviewing

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a person/client-centered counseling approach that helps individuals resolve ambivalence and find their own internal motivation for making changes. It's a collaborative, goal-oriented communication style designed to strengthen motivation for change by exploring and resolving ambivalence Reference Hettema, J., Steele, J., & Miller, W. R. (2005). Motivational interviewing. Annual review of clinical psychology, 1, 91–111.

Culturally Sensitive Therapy

Honoring cultural values, needs and understanding differences is crucial to understanding your individualized stressors and concerns.