Somatic therapist and trauma therapist | Freelance educator, public speaker and story-teller | Group facilitator | Collaborator | Community-builder | Agent of change | Descendant of Inca and Black ancestors | Happy aunt

I greet you and your ancestors with respect.

I love my work and I am thrilled to be a part of the global community that strives to bring an effective blend of experience, expertise, concern and action to the counseling and educational process to provide genuine healing and wholeness to children, young adults.

Over the last fifteen years or so I have learned wonderful attachment therapies such Theraplay, Somatic Work, Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and others. I have also received training from Dr. Bruce Perry on his Neurosequential Model. I am also certified on the Safe and Sound Protocol and Focused certified. Both protocols were created by Dr. Stephen Porges, and they are based on Polyvagal Theory. I am currently in the process of  completing the necessary requirements dictated by the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA) standards, to become a certified Neurofeedback provider. These models, along with the Expressive therapy approach, and EMDR protocols, have increased my desire to continue learning to be able to integrate the different trauma-informed practices with neuroscience.

I have had the opportunity to counsel a wide range of patients in a variety of settings. These have included counseling in inpatient, partial hospital settings, intensive outpatient and outpatient community mental health programs, and three different domestic violence shelters.

My heart is also drawn to counseling children and adolescents. My areas of emphasis with children include mood disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, selective mutism, and attention deficit hyperactive disorder. I have significant experience working with children and adolescents who have experienced varying degrees of trauma, including various types of physical and/or sexual abuse, abandonment, neglect, and dysfunctional family systems.

I have a strong base of counseling experience working with adults in a wide variety of settings. My specialty areas include C-PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, general mood disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder. I am also experienced in the areas of couples and family therapy.

I incorporate EMDR, expressive therapies such as sand tray therapy and writing therapy when working with adults who have experienced severe and prolonged trauma. I also use Emotionally Focused Therapy, the Gottman method and techniques/procedures used by Esther Perel in my work with couples.

One of my goals is to do what I can in my professional and personal life to not only honor my mom and grandmother but to also honor my Black and Inca ancestors by intentionally including and acknowledging the importance of understanding and respecting different cultures. Cardenas Institutes stands by identifying, increasing, and acknowledging resources that every culture brings to the table.

Lastly, Cardenas Institute is my dream come true, a blending of my clinical, and training interests. I am also inspired to maintain a level of excellence that is part of my goal and mission.