Noah De La Cruz
Being a therapist is a lifelong passion for me and is rooted in my dedication to supporting adults, children, families, and communities in building safety, resilience, and hope.
As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I was educated in Urban Generalist Theory and focused my studies on Latino Critical Social Work.
My journey has taken me from my home county of Santa Cruz where I advocated and ran groups for youth living in situations including domestic violence from 2011-2013, to working as a shelter counselor in Oakland for youth 13-21 from 2016-2018. I worked in serving famillies with San Francisco Child and Family Services, where I partnered with families navigating reunification with their children while providing psychoeducation and crisis counseling during critical moments from 2018-2022. I have been licensed with my LCSW since May 2025 and focused my prior professional development around harm reduction and culturally focused treatment, aligning with my commitment to social justice and culturally responsive care.
First session
Our first session will include general relationship building and getting to know what brings you to seeking therapy. We would work to get an idea of what kind of changes you would like to see in your life and see how therapy could help with those changes. I work to build a non-judgemental environment that allows people to be their authentic self without worrying about how things may come across.
Strengths
As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I was educated in Urban Generalist Theory and focused my studies on Latino Critical Social Work. I work to bring culturally responsive, community-centered care to clients navigating complex urban and rual systems. With a decade of experience across crisis stabilization, telehealth, and community mental health, I integrate trauma-informed, evidence-based approaches while honoring the lived experiences of diverse, multicultural communities. This being said I think it is also important to note that anyone is able to benefit from these approaches and working to understand that mental health is a cross-cultural issue has broadened my scope in people that I serve, even when they might not be faced with the same systemic challenges.
Ideal clients
My practice focuses on working with clients who need support in empowerment and who need help navigating systemic barriers, fostering resilience, and uplifting cultural strengths while navigating other challenges such as, anxiety, depression, psychosis, trauma, and life transitions. I work to give my clients the tools to navigate the world around their challenges and work to lower the impact their challenges may have so they can live fulfilling lives.
Treatment methods
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing was one of the first methods taught to me in my career and I have found it to be one of the best ways to approach and get to know a person. I strive for clients to be in a non-judgemental space where they can explore their goals and motivations for change.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Mindfulness has been a great skill for many of my clients to cultivate and I personally have benefitted from this technique and approach. It is versitile in the situations it can be used in and is a critical part of many other theraputic techniques and approaches.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I have used ACT when working with clients who have dibilitating illnesses and are unable to work past some of their symptoms. While using mindfulness, I utilize ACT as a way to help clients come to an acceptance of their situation while working to minimize it's impact in their life so they can still pursue activities that are meaningful to them.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I utilize Cognitive Behvioral Therapy techniques to support my clients in developing action plans to challenge instances of anxiety or stressful situations in order to better cope and work away from avoidance. I support clients to examine their behavior and work to intigrate coping skills that can empower clients into making life changes while also developing education around their symptoms.
Location
Virtual sessions