Family Systems Therapists in Monrovia, CA

I am passionate about working with adolescents, adults, and couples who are seeking support with a wide range of issues, including shame, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and concerns related to relationships, life transitions, sexuality, and identity. To meet the unique needs of each client, I draw on a range of therapeutic modalities and perspectives, including psychodynamic, somatic, family systems , parts work, and mindfulness techniques. I am also trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). I come to my work as a therapist with compassion, warmth, humor, and honesty.

I love working with people who are focused on personal growth and healing. I enjoy helping clients understand their own story, which often results in changing their current narrative to one that is more empowering. My hope is to see clients walk in greater freedom and see tangible changes happen in their life, while also enjoying this messy, yet beautiful process of healing as much as possible. I believe that as we grow in self awareness and develop a deeper sense of identity, that shame, disappointment and negative beliefs no longer have the same hold over us and we can move toward a deeper sense of fulfillment in life.

Melissa strongly believes in a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to patient care. She is dedicated to creating a safe and judgment-free environment, as well as helping individuals find peace and heal their inner child and past traumas. She is available for couples, family, and individual therapy.

My mission as a therapist is to affirm the best in you. I believe that as human beings we require a sense of safety and affirmation in order to take the courageous step of examining our own lives, even those aspects that are painful. I seek to provide that safety with a warm and collaborate approach to treatment. The services I provide are trauma focused and identity affirming. I have experience working with young adults in community mental health, as well as with adolescents in a high school setting.

Claudia is an EMDR certified bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW 83703) who is licensed to practice in New York and California. She has over 15 years of experience working with individuals of all ages, couples, and families. Claudia specializes in trauma recovery, family systems and relationship issues, fertility concerns, substance abuse and recovery, sexual and gender identity, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, and migration and acculturation challenges. Claudia collaborates with the client in curating a space that nurtures self-resiliency, strength, and embraces complexity with renewed care and compassion.

You are an individual with a unique story. Perhaps you’re a parent who wants to expand what it means to raise a child, maybe you’re processing trauma and working on re-parenting yourself, or you’re exploring questions of gender and sexuality. I come to this work because of stories. Stories of the human condition, stories we tell ourselves, the story that culture tells us, and stories that need repair. Sometimes we need help understanding, processing, or reimagining our stories.

Tired of feeling stuck or overtaken by your feelings? Ready to gently and bravely dig into the relationship between your past experiences and your current level of functioning? Together, in a safe, warm, and genuine therapeutic relationship, we will de-escalate the negative patterns affecting your life, get to know your protective and wounded parts of self that may be feeling stuck and unseen, uncover your authentic self, and develop new patterns for soulful living. Life can be messy and complicated, and it can also be beautiful and full of wonder and joy. Therapy reflects all of that.

Welcome! As a trauma informed therapist offering a safe, calm, and respectful environment for individuals to explore thoughts and feelings to promote inner healing is key. Life gets busy, so it is important to prioritize our mental health, and this is your first step. As a first gen mental health professional, I am humbled to be a part of the journey to self exploration. I have 10+ years of experience working in the mental health community, as part of my journey I ventured into private practice, and I am excited to provide a safe space as a Latinx therapist. "We are not what happened to us, we are what we wish to become." Carl Jung

Hello! congrats on starting one of the most difficult first steps of healing: finding a therapist that is a good fit for you. Starting therapy can feel like such an overwhelming process. Looking through pages of therapists trying to gauge if they can understand you and what you’ve been through, worrying if you will be judged for your decisions, reactions, thoughts, or history. If you are feeling any of that, you are definitely not alone.

Milennials and Generation Z: Do you struggle with stress or anxiety on a daily basis? , Do you feel like you have to do everything "perfectly" or feel like and imposter at work? Is it difficult to stay focused and motivated? When you look at your life do you feel like you are thriving or just surviving?

Do you go through life feeling scattered, highly creative without a direction of how to best channel your imagination, or struggling with time management? Together, we will identify your specific ADHD traits. We will assess how to best partner WITH your unique brain via practical tools and outside resources to help you live your life in a way that feels sustainable for you. And we create space to process your early life experiences before you knew about ADHD and how it effected you. This three step process is a containing way to address your ADHD and thrive through structure and emotional attunement.