Welcome, I’m Dez— a licensed mental health counselor working virtually with adults across New York State.
About Me
I was born and raised in the Central Valley of California, with a few years spent in Southern California, and now call New York City home where I work as a psychotherapist, mental health educator, and activist.
As a first-generation college graduate and proud Latina, I know firsthand what it’s like to navigate spaces where you don’t always feel seen or understood. Growing up as the eldest daughter in a Mexican-American family shaped how I show up in the world, and it is ultimately what called me to this heart-centered work.
Much of my practice is about creating the kind of space I once longed for—one that is safe, identity-affirming, empowering, and rooted in cultural pride. I am passionate about social justice and supporting the holistic health and wellbeing of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ folks of color, Latine, and Chicanx communities.
My therapeutic approach is integrative, with an emphasis on Mujerisita Liberation Psychology. I provide Telehealth psychotherapy to adults and couples residing in New York State.Whether we are navigating complex family dynamics, systemic oppression, or personal trauma, we will honor your full context, viewing your history as a source of strength rather than a barrier.
My style is warm, non-judgmental, and deeply collaborative.
About My Approach
In our work together, we will explore both your past and present to deepen your understanding of who you are today—your challenges, as well as the unique ways you love, create, and dream.
I believe that psychological distress is rarely just an individual issue. Instead of viewing your struggles through a rigid, pathologizing lens, we will look at the whole picture. We honor your intersecting identities, center cultural and community resources, and recognize that your symptoms are often brilliant survival strategies developed to protect you in an unjust world.
Because our survival strategies live directly within the nervous system, our sessions will invite you to slow down. My practice is deeply rooted in a gentle form of somatic psychotherapy that utilizes mindful, assisted self-discovery to explore how you organize your experience of the world.
Together, we will:
Gently notice your “felt experience” in the present moment by tracking emotions, subtle gestures, posture, and bodily sensations to hear what your subconscious is expressing.
Meet your protective patterns with deep appreciation rather than trying to fight or eliminate them, recognizing them as brilliant adaptations designed to keep you safe.
In the safety of mindful awareness, gently uncover the deeply held, unconscious core beliefs that shape how you view yourself and the world, opening the door to updating them.
Provide your body and spirit with the nourishment, safety, or validation missing in the past, allowing you to experience new ways of being held and seen.
Move past clinical labels to safely look within, dismantle internalized oppressions, reclaim ancestral wisdom, and step into new, liberated ways of being.
“No one is born fully-formed; it is through self-experience in the world that we become what we are.”
—Paulo Freire