Ana Maria Martinez LCSW

As a queer woman myself I understand the importance of having a supportive therapist who can see me and treat me as an individual but also gets it and doesn't need my identity explained. I have worked extensively over the years with queer and trans folks, and understand the complexities (and joy!) that come with how these identities impacts our wellbeing in a world that isn't always welcoming to them.

The majority of my career I've specialized in working with survivors of sexual abuse, and it is still where I find the most impactful and meaningful work. I have had the privilege of seeing survivors make remarkable changes in their lives in order to heal and thrive, despite going through some of the worst experiences imaginable. See the PTSD section for overview of how I've honed in my approach with this population.

Because nearly every client I've worked with in my career had experienced trauma, it has been crucial for me to develop expertise with this. To that end I've sought to be trained in styles and modalities of therapy that support this. If you are suffering or struggling after experiencing trauma, know that is normal and something that your body probably wants to heal from as well. I'm happy to support towards that goal.

I completed EMDR training back in 2016 and have since used it with hundreds of clients with positive results.

In trauma treatment I find that being able to take agency of one's story - to understand and make sense of what happened - is one of the most effective ways for clients to regain a sense of agency and relief from their symptoms. I've used this style of therapy to various degrees throughout my career and have found it very supportive.

The first training I took on Internal Family Systems fundamentally changed the way I saw unsafe or difficult symptoms. This style of therapy allows us to approach these with a sense of curiosity and compassion that gives room for intentional change.