Fabiola Navarrete Hernandez
Hello! I’m Fabiola Navarrete Hernandez, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) providing virtual therapy throughout California. I offer a collaborative, nonjudgmental space where you can feel respected, understood, and supported in being fully yourself. As a queer Latine/x therapist, child of Central American immigrants, practicing visual artist, and guardian of a cat coven, I bring warmth, humor, creativity, and authenticity to my work. I’m committed to creating accessible, culturally affirming, and non-oppressive spaces for healing.
As a queer Latine/x therapist and child of Central American immigrants, I am dedicated to creating accessible, non-oppressive healing spaces.
My integrative approach draws from expressive arts, humanistic, strengths-based, and liberation-focused therapies. I support adults navigating burnout, creative blocks, life transitions, self-esteem, perfectionism, guilt, chronic hyper-responsibility, identity exploration, relationship concerns, family or cultural stress, neurodivergence, and the lasting effects of childhood or developmental trauma. I primarily work with BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ adults, including QTBIPOC individuals, first-generation adults, adults who are children of immigrants, queer and trans adults, and neurodivergent adults. Together, we can explore your experiences, reconnect with your strengths, and move toward a life that feels more authentic and aligned with your values. If you’re ready to connect, I invite you to reach out.
First session
In your first session, we’ll begin getting to know each other and discussing what brought you to therapy. I’ll invite you to share your concerns, goals, strengths, and hopes for our work together—at your own pace. You do not need to have everything figured out or know exactly what to say. We’ll also talk about how I work, answer questions, review confidentiality and boundaries, and begin identifying approaches that may best support you. You’ll have space to notice whether the relationship feels comfortable and aligned with your needs. You can expect a collaborative, low-pressure conversation focused on creating safety, connection, and a shared direction for therapy. By the end of our first session, we’ll have begun developing a foundation for our work together and identifying meaningful next steps.
Strengths
I bring a consistent, reliable, and empathetic presence to each session. My authentic, artsy-fartsy style helps foster a welcoming environment where trust, safety, and genuine connection are prioritized. I approach therapy collaboratively, honoring each client’s autonomy, identity, experiences, and pace. Consent and the therapeutic relationship are central to my work. I regularly invite feedback so we can adjust our goals, address changing needs, and ensure that our sessions feel meaningful and supportive. I believe therapy is most effective when clients feel heard, respected, and actively involved in the process. I am skilled at helping clients reframe difficult experiences, recognize their strengths, and connect with possibilities beyond limiting beliefs. I also support clients in reconnecting with their intuition, discernment, alignment, and sense of agency. Rather than positioning myself as the expert on your life, I see you as the author of your story. My role is to offer reflection, curiosity, creative tools, and steady support as you explore what feels authentic and meaningful to you. What makes my approach stand out is the combination of warmth, creativity, collaboration, and deep respect for each client’s capacity to grow and make empowered choices.
Ideal clients
I’m especially committed to supporting BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, and other historically marginalized individuals, including artists and creatives, as they move toward greater self-discovery and well-being. My practice is an affirming space for adults navigating life transitions, self-esteem concerns, creative or existential blocks, and questions related to identity, relationships, and belonging. I’m particularly passionate about supporting clients processing childhood, developmental, or intergenerational trauma; navigating school or career uncertainty; or adapting to significant changes in their personal or family lives. I enjoy working with clients who are curious about themselves and open to exploring new perspectives. Together, we can reconnect with core values, cultivate healthier relationships, develop practical coping strategies, and build greater self-trust, connection, and empowerment. I have experience working with immigrant, first-generation, Latine, BIPOC, QTBIPOC, and neurodivergent clients, as well as monolingual middle-aged and older adults managing complex or chronic health conditions. As a bilingual clinician, I have also supported Latine families across West Contra Costa, Alameda, and Marin counties. I welcome clients who are ready to engage collaboratively in therapy and open to exploring creative or expressive approaches. My goal is to support each person’s unique healing process while honoring the cultural, relational, systemic, and personal experiences that shape their lives.
Treatment methods
Integrative
I use an integrative approach, drawing from expressive arts and play therapy, as well as heart-centered, existential, humanistic, strengths-based, culturally affirming, decolonial, and narrative approaches. This flexibility allows me to tailor therapy to each client’s unique needs, identities, goals, and preferences. In our work together, creative practices and therapeutic reflection may help you process experiences, explore emotions, access personal strengths, understand patterns, and integrate new insights. Depending on your goals, we may make space for your inner child, strengthen emotional regulation and relationships, challenge unhelpful thought patterns, work through creative blocks, develop sustainable self-care practices, or explore meaning in the face of stress and transition. I am here to hold and facilitate a safe, collaborative, and creative space where you can feel supported as you work toward your mental health goals. You do not need to consider yourself “creative” to benefit from this approach—curiosity and willingness to explore are enough.
Trauma Informed Care
Trauma-informed care is an approach that recognizes how past and ongoing experiences of trauma can affect a person’s emotions, relationships, body, sense of safety, and daily life. In my practice, I prioritize emotional and physical safety, transparency, consent, collaboration, and client choice. I do not view symptoms or coping strategies as flaws; instead, I approach them as meaningful adaptations that may have helped you survive or navigate difficult experiences. I am also a Certified Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) practitioner. TIST is a parts-based approach that supports clients in understanding trauma-related thoughts, emotions, sensations, and impulses with greater compassion and curiosity. Together, we may build grounding and regulation skills, notice protective responses, and create more space between triggers and reactions—without requiring you to share details before you feel ready. My goal is to help you feel more connected to yourself, recognize your strengths, and develop greater choice in how you respond to life’s challenges. I integrate TIST with expressive arts, humanistic, strengths-based, and liberation-focused approaches, tailoring our work to your needs, identities, goals, and pace.
EMDR
I integrate EMDR into my practice as a collaborative, trauma-informed approach for clients who want to process distressing experiences, painful memories, or patterns that continue to affect their present lives. I have completed EMDR therapy training through the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. We begin by establishing safety, trust, and stabilization. Before processing memories, I support clients in developing grounding and emotional regulation skills so they feel more prepared and empowered. When appropriate, EMDR may be integrated with expressive arts, mindfulness, parts work, and other approaches that support each client’s needs, identity, and goals. I move at your pace and regularly invite feedback throughout the process. My goal is not to force you to revisit anything before you are ready, but to help you develop greater choice, self-understanding, and a sense of safety in the present.
Supportive
I use supportive therapy to offer a steady, compassionate space where you can feel heard, understood, and less alone. Together, we may explore current stressors, emotions, relationships, and life transitions while identifying your existing strengths and sources of support. Our work may include reflection, validation, problem-solving, coping strategies, and gentle encouragement as you navigate challenges. I can also help you build self-awareness, strengthen emotional regulation, and reconnect with your values and goals. Supportive therapy is flexible and can be short-term or ongoing, depending on your needs. My role is to meet you where you are, offer perspective and care, and support you in moving through difficult experiences with greater clarity, confidence, and self-compassion.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
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Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 144741