LMFT, 11 years of experience
Hello, my name is Jonathan Castro and I’ve been a mental health therapist for the last 11 years, as well as have had a multitude of experiences in different backgrounds working in the field of mental health. I have worked in psychiatric hospitals, County mental health clinics, private practice, just the name a few. I say that to let clients know that no matter what you are coming in with and struggling with that I can handle it. It’s not gonna overwhelm me, and I feel honored to be a part of your healing journey.
Each therapist runs their sessions a little different, some therapists are very laid-back and allow clients to process out loud in their sessions and will not providing a lot of direction. Some therapists are very structured and have a very particular way of running their sessions, but I would say for me. I’m a balance of both. I definitely think it is important for clients to have a safe space to process out loud, whether it be what they’re going through, or what they’re feeling. I’ll also provide direction, tools, and techniques to really begin addressing and getting to the root to some of their struggles and problems.
I think my greatest strength is just my experience being able to work with so many different backgrounds, races, cultures, and belief systems that allows me to have a plethora of different perspectives and views that can help each client no matter what they’re coming in with.
At the end of the day, the most important thing for therapy to be helpful is your relationship to me. I hold that as a top priority and make it essential that clients feel safe, heard, and understood by me. Therapy at the end of the day is what you make of it, and so if you put a lot into it, I can guarantee you’ll get a lot out of it, but at the same time if you half-ass your therapy, that is also the result that you will get.
I’d like to use CBT just as a foundation for a lot of clients when they’re coming in in the beginning just to give them something to work through and have in their toolbox to begin addressing their different symptoms of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, anger, etc. I like to use it for two reasons; one being that it’s an evidence in space practice, as well as it being a pretty simple concept that can make a profound difference when it comes to addressing your symptoms and struggles.
A large percentage of our symptoms really do stem from our relationships throughout our life whether it was in the past, recent, or current. Because of that I like to use this perspective when addressing the different struggles that a client comes in with, as well as process the recurrent struggles of this throughout their history.
I like using DBT just because of the structure that it provides, as well as the direction that it can give to a lot of clients when they feel very overwhelmed by their emotions or having a hard time in their friendships, especially with the difficulties and complexities that can come with being in relationships.
I love using Goman’s tools for my clients that are in relationships with her be friendships, business, or especially long-term romantic relationship relationships. The concepts from Gatman are research based improving to work, which is also a big part of the reason why I like to implement it with clients.
Time and time again research shows that the most important thing for therapy to be helpful for clients is the relationship that you have with your therapist. So I make it a top priority to make sure that any client that I work with no matter what their background or experiences are that they feel supported, validated, acknowledged, and most importantly safe.