Licensed to practice in California and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Grief, Life Transitions, Peer Relationships and 7 more.

Dominique Nakagi

(she/her)

LCSW, 4 years of experience
No reviews yet

New to Grow

VirtualAvailable

Hey and congratulations on taking the first step in your healing journey. Together, we can create a safe, nonjudgmental space where you can process life’s experiences without feeling like you have to carry everything alone. Life can be overwhelming, and therapy offers an opportunity to better understand yourself, navigate challenges, and create meaningful change. My goal is to help you improve your quality of life, reconnect with your authentic self, and strengthen your emotional regulation skills. Growth and change can feel uncomfortable, but learning to move through discomfort is often where healing begins.

Get to know me

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

In the first sessions, I will be gathering basic and personal information about yourself and the presenting concerns impacting your mental health and daily functioning. During the first few sessions it can be a little comfortable since you will mostly be taking and I will be actively listening, asking questions for clarity to better understand you and the presenting concerns. Usually after a 3-4 sessions, my clients and I have developed a secure therapeutic relationships that allows for the client to feel more comfortable talking about deeper vulnerable topics.

The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions

Reflecting on my experiences with medical providers and how uncomfortable they have made me feel during the appointments, I strive to be able to create a safe space for my client to feel comfortable to share their vulnerabilities without the fear of being judged/criticized. My approach to therapy is a balance between holding space to process/validate and challenging my clients for continued growth.

The clients I'm best positioned to serve

My ideal client is individual who are motivated and ready to improve their mental health and daily functioning. Clients who are navigating grief'/loss, life changes, career changes, interpersonal relationship issues, and identity/self-esteem concerns. I have a balanced approach of being affirming and challenging when needed, so clients who are not afraid to get things pointed out to them during sessions.

Specialties

Top specialties

Grief

Other specialties

Anxiety

Depression

Self Esteem

I identify as

Asian / Asian American

Serves ages

Teenagers (13 to 17)

Licensed in

Location

Virtual

My treatment methods

Acceptance and commitment (ACT)

Through my experience I have found that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) skills have helped my clients build an understanding of the mind/body connection of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Through ACT, clients have been increased their awareness of how they experience emotions and feelings to improve their emotional intelligence. Through ACT, I have seen my clients build an understanding of their thoughts and being able to see the thoughts as just thoughts and reduce the distress experienced with those thoughts.

Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

I have found this to be helpful with understanding the connection between thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. There are different CBT skills that have helped my clients understand their thinking patterns and identifying, challenge, and reframe their thoughts to reduce reactive/impulsive/defensive behaviors.

Trauma Informed Care

Trauma informed care is understanding that life is hard for many individuals and I am not here to shame, judge, criticize the client for their past experiences and choices. Through education, professional experience, and life experience I realized that sometimes it takes time for people to talk about past experiences that caused extreme distress in their life and how it made them feel and thats okay.

Attachment-based

During therapy we discuss issues related to work, family, and/or friends. Understanding your attachment style through exploring how the clients has learned to engage/show up in relationships whether its romantic, platonic, or professional assists with understanding the presenting relationships issues.

New to Grow
This provider hasn’t received any written reviews yet. We started collecting written reviews January 1, 2025.