Valerie Abrigo Rivera MA, LMHC, YTT-200, Reiki Level-I Certified

Valerie's initial training and professional experiences include work as a youth partial care program counselor, an in-home family therapist and a community-based clinician - all of which were in direct support of parents learning to better support their child's needs.

Trained at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for a Phase III randomized clinical trial on lifestyle intervention, Valerie coached BWEL Study participants for over 6 years. Valerie supported breast cancer survivors in achieving and maintaining sustainable lifestyle changes, including long-term weight loss, stress reduction and improvements in overall mental health and wellbeing.

The pandemic has led so many of us to realize just how much we were doing and how much we strive to achieve each day. In particular, Valerie has supported working parents and healthcare workers in finding more sustainability for day-to-day life.

CBT provides an excellent backdrop from which to understand our day-to-day behaviors and emotions as we navigate life's challenges.

For most of us, the pandemic has brought awareness to just how much we strive to achieve each day. Some of my clients have been healthcare providers and caretakers who have benefited from taking time to reflect on what serves them in order to better show up in all of the different domains of their lives.

Trained at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for a Phase III randomized clinical trial on lifestyle intervention, Valerie has coached breast cancer survivors in achieving and maintaining sustainable lifestyle changes, including long-term weight loss, stress reduction and improvements in overall health and wellness.

CBT provides an excellent framework for understanding our goals for behavior change and how they relate to our thoughts, feelings and emotions.

I believe that self-care is not selfish, that we benefit from asking ourselves the question, "Does this serve me?" and that our single greatest tool for navigating the beautiful chaos of life lies in our ability to try on new perspectives and build our capacity for thinking in the "grey" rather than black and white. By choosing to make time for ourselves in therapy or coaching, we are better able to show up in the other domains of our lives.