Hi, I’m Valerie.

I draw from CBT, DBT, ACT, CPT, psychodynamic theory, and somatic work. I use what fits the person in front of me and adjust as we go. The goal is that you leave with a clearer sense of what you are carrying and real tools to work with it.

I specialize in trauma, eating disorder recovery, anxiety, bicultural and Latine identity, couples and family dynamics, and support for first responders and helping professionals.

I named this practice Con Cariño because warmth changes how people open up. Even in physical healing, you often have to warm the tissue first. The same thing happens in a room. The people I've been most changed by are the ones who made room for you to be exactly who you are, no performance needed. That's what I want clients to feel here.

My path to this work started with wanting to protect my family. I grew up watching my father be stereotyped and misread, and I felt that deeply. On my mother's side, mental health struggles moved through generations without words, without support, and with nowhere to put any of it down. I knew early on that I wanted to build a space for people who have been dismissed or told their experience doesn't count.

As a Latina therapist in Texas, I understand what it means to sit with someone who knows the code-switching, the weight of two cultures in one body, and everything that goes unspoken because of where you come from. My family is Mexican. My son is mixed race. This work is personal to me. I want every session to feel like a real conversation.