Grace Garcia LCSW

I can help you process and heal from trauma, reduce distressing symptoms, and regain a sense of control over your life. For example, we can focus on identifying and challenging unhelpful beliefs related to the trauma. This includes gaining a deeper understanding of yourself and the circumstances resulting in the traumatic event.

I can help unpack the cognitive patterns behind low self-esteem (e.g., negative self-beliefs, harsh inner critic). I can walk you through therapeutic approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy, which will help challenge those negative core beliefs and cognitive distortions.

I can incorporate mindfulness into therapy, which helps to become more aware of the present moment and less focused on anxious thoughts about the future or past. Some exercises, such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided imagery, are often used to calm the body and reduce the physiological symptoms of anxiety.

I am a level one certified Solution-Focused Brief Therapist. I am fully aware of the focus on solutions rather than problems and how to use future-focused thinking to emphasize what’s working. I am also capable of helping clients move toward their desired future and avoid getting caught in the details of the problem.

I believe that understanding your unconscious self will aid in better understanding your present responses and actions. Some of these may appear to be defense mechanisms, transference, countertransference, attachment patterns, and internal conflict. The more we unpack the past, the better we can understand the present.

I can help clients navigate between their thoughts (cognitions), feelings, and behaviors and see how the three influence each other in the reverse as well. The goal of this is to address behavioral patterns and better understand how negative thoughts and emotions turn into issues such as avoidance or dwelling on problems or trauma that create compounding emotions and further develop negative feelings.