Cameron Bustamante (She/her)

My trauma experience centers on traumatic grief — supporting clients through sudden and complicated loss using a Trauma-Focused CBT framework. I draw from attachment theory and family systems perspectives to understand how trauma lives in relationships and self-concept. I prioritize a safe, paced environment where clients can approach difficult material without feeling overwhelmed.

I approach anxiety with curiosity rather than avoidance, creating space for clients to feel and explore rather than suppress. My work draws from ACT, CBT, psychodynamic, Person-Centered therapy, and EFT. I focus on the core beliefs driving anxious patterns and use emotionally-focused approaches to address them at their root.

I have direct experience supporting clients through grief and traumatic loss using Trauma-Focused CBT, attachment theory, and family systems approaches. I also facilitate a grief support group at my clinical site. I approach grief not as pathology but as a deeply human process deserving space, witness, and compassionate support.

Person-centered theory is the foundation of how I understand people and the change process. Healing happens through a genuine relationship, where a client experiences unconditional acceptance and feels truly known. I hold deep respect for each client's inherent worth and capacity for growth, and I create a therapeutic environment grounded in warmth, empathy, and an emotionally focused presence. The relationship itself is the treatment.

I incorporate CBT to help clients identify and examine the core beliefs and thought patterns driving their distress. I use CBT collaboratively and relationally, never as a rigid protocol, weaving cognitive work into the broader therapeutic relationship when clients are ready to examine and challenge unhelpful patterns. I find CBT particularly effective when combined with emotionally focused and acceptance-based approaches.

I draw on ACT to help clients build psychological flexibility and learn to hold difficult thoughts and feelings with openness rather than avoidance. I use ACT principles to explore personal values and help clients move toward what matters most, even in the presence of pain. I find ACT especially effective with anxiety and grief, where acceptance of difficult internal experience is often the first step toward meaningful change.