Meet Dr. Mercedes

I'm direct, warm, and not above using humor when it fits. I'm not the kind of therapist who sits back and reflects everything at you. I'm in it with you, paying attention, asking the questions that actually matter.

I also believe, and twelve years of this work has only made me more sure of it, that people are almost always more capable of change than they think they are. That includes you.

Twelve years, hundreds of families, every background imaginable.

I've sat with students at some of LA's most competitive private schools, kids from migrant farmworker families in rural California, young adults who couldn't find their footing, couples who had stopped really talking to each other, and just about everything in between. Twelve years of that teaches you a lot. What I've learned is that most people are already aware something isn't working. What's harder is seeing the pattern beneath it clearly enough to actually change it. That's the work.

Not your typical therapy background. That's what makes this different.

I got my PhD at UCSB, taught college-level psychology, and trained at The Help Group and UCLA TIES for Families, specializing in trauma, child development, and foster care adoption. I then served as Chief Clinical Officer at Manatee, a pediatric mental health startup, where I built and scaled a national clinical program. Before all of that I taught middle school in South LA, worked at a school counseling center, studied abroad in Brazil, and spent time in an orphanage.

The breadth matters. It means I've seen a lot, in a lot of different contexts, and very little surprises me anymore.

Outside the office

Outside the office I'm a mom, a wife, and someone who is most at home when there's good food, good company, and something to laugh about. I bake and decorate cakes, play volleyball, and do improv. I love to travel, and some of my favorite moments are the simple ones, a meal with friends, a beach day with my husband and son, or a really good conversation that goes longer than it should.

Education:

• Postdoctoral Fellowship – UCLA TIES for Families (Trauma & Foster Youth Specialization)

• Ph.D. in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology – University of California, Santa BarbaraB.A.

• Psychology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Training & Expertises:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)

• The Gottman Method (Couples Therapy Approach)

• ADAPT (Adoption-Specific Prevention Treatment)

• Mindfulness-Based Approaches

• Motivational Interviewing