about Lena 

Welcome! Seeking help is a brave step.

I am a trauma-informed therapist working with adults and teens in the state of California. I received a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and a Master’s in Special Education from Arizona State University. After my own personal life-changing experience with comprehensive DBT, I received intensive training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy from Behavior Tech and work with a consultation team run by Nancy Gordon, a Marsha Linehan-certified DBT practitioner.

In addition to my training in DBT, I also have training in Prolonged Exposure for the treatment of trauma within a DBT framework as well as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for the treatment of OCD. I regularly attend consultation teams for both of these treatment modalities with experts in the field.

I hold the perspective that therapeutic connection provides the healing power to approach some of life's biggest challenges.

Adapting to change and loss is also a challenging part of life, and I use my experience in grief work to help clients struggling with life transitions and losses. I also specialize in anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, and BPD. As a neurodivergent individual, I strongly believe in being a neurodiversity affirming therapist, and constantly seek to educate myself on how to best support my clients who are neurodivergent.

As a queer femme, I have personal and professional experience serving the LGBTQ* community. I have a strong foundation in culturally responsive counseling and approach my work with humility and empathy. I attend regular consultation groups and educate myself on serving a diverse population as a white therapist. I am trilingual in English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.