PSYCHOTHERAPY & EVIDENCE-INFORMED CARE

Do you find yourself holding everything together for everyone else, a high-functioning professional who can't afford to fall apart, but quietly struggling underneath it all?
Have you tried to manage your anxiety, depression, trauma, or stress on your own, and found that willpower alone isn't enough?
Are you looking for a therapist who treats your culture, identity, and beliefs as part of the picture, and who offers real depth and real change, not just symptom management or a one size fits all approach?
If this sounds like you, I'd love to talk. Schedule a free consultation and let's see if we're the right fit.
My work is integrative, multi modal, and evidence based. I draw on a combination of proven tools rather than relying on a single method, approaching your challenges from multiple angles.
My goal is simple: to create a safe space where you can be open and honest, focus on your strengths, and bring out the best in yourself and the people around you. When it fits your beliefs, I welcome weaving spirituality into our work.
Take a look around, you'll find more about my approach and resources throughout this site. And whenever you're ready,
Therapy, to me, is a shared space where growth happens through honest connection and real self-reflection.
I bring creativity, humor, and metaphor into our work, creating room for you to explore your inner world with curiosity, honesty, and self-compassion.
My own experience with life's hardships has shaped how I understand this work: vulnerability isn't weakness, it's where real growth begins.
Change comes from building self-awareness and having the courage to step outside your comfort zone. Watching people find that courage as they heal is what continues to inspire me.

Excellence: You deserve clinical rigor grounded in advanced trauma trainings and ongoing consultation
Compassion and curiosity: I meet you with warmth, without judgment, and stay open to what your story, body, and history reveal
Inclusion: You are welcome here, whoever you are. I honor diversity across culture, language, gender identity, sexual orientation, and lived experience, including the LGBTQIA+ community
Integrity: You can count on honesty and accuracy in every part of our work, from diagnosis to documentation to what I can and can't help with
Collaboration: I partner with your referring providers and colleagues to support your treatment and growth

You deserve a trauma focused psychological practice you can trust, one where you feel truly seen and supported on your path toward wellbeing and lasting resilience.
My work is grounded in evidence-based, body aware approaches that help you not just understand yourself better and get well, but stay well, so you can move through life with steadiness, self trust, and the capacity to meet whatever comes next.

Caring for you first. I provide culturally responsive, evidence based psychological care, meeting you where you are and honoring the full context of who you are, your history, your culture, and your story.
My work centers on helping you feel safe enough to heal, understood enough to be honest, and supported enough to grow, whether you are processing trauma, navigating a life transition, or building a stronger relationship with yourself.
Cortez Psychological Services, Inc.
924 Anacapa Street | Unit 4E | Santa Barbara | California | 93101