Clinical Social Worker

Tessa Hernandez

January 13, 2023 by together@soulcentriccollective.com

Tessa is a first-generation college student, and mother, and is bi-racial (Mexican-American). Her love for therapy began when she had a therapist help her through difficult family transitions. Her experience with the power of therapy and how unconditional positive regard can truly help a person grow is what drives her to serve in this way. Being able to witness a patient’s growth, resilience, and strength is truly a privilege for her. She is motivated to serve this way because everybody can benefit from some form of mental health services. She wishes to contribute to the normalization of people of all identities, socioeconomic statuses, and belief systems to be able to access affirming and affordable mental health care.

Tessa’s ideal patient is someone who is open to change, and collaboration, and interested in co-creating the therapy experience. She serves as a guide to help patients use their strengths to decide their goals and to understand what works best toward achieving their goals. Her aim is to provide patients a warm and nurturing environment that is free of judgment. Tessa has extensive experience working with the LGBTQIA+ community with a trauma-informed lens.

She wants patients to feel empowered during and after working with her. She wants them to be able to identify their unique qualities and strengths that were always there, but they may have just needed a little help seeing and experiencing them from within.

Filipinx Mother’s Circle (In-Person!)

September 24, 2022 by Kate Viernes

In honor of Filipino American History Month, Filipinx mothers will connect, share space, and create a community for their motherhood journeys.

Participants in this group will explore:

Mental health stigma, gendered expectations, colonization, intergenerational trauma, and all the other reasons why Filipinx moms may struggle with taking care of themselves
How to connect with and heal those “parts” of us that carry the energy of intergenerational pain
The many ways we can connect to our ancestors and histories and pass these connections on to future generation

Co-facilitated by Melissa Villamejor, AMFT #104927 and Kate Viernes, LCSW #80753

No one turned away for lack of funds.

Kate Viernes

September 24, 2022 by Kate Viernes

I am a licensed clinical social worker with over 7 years of experience providing psychotherapy to adults, teens, and youth. Before starting my private practice, I worked as a clinician and clinical manager at a community-based mental health program in Oakland serving APIs (Asian Pacific Islanders) and immigrants and refugees from various parts of the world. In this setting, not only was I able to develop a high standard of clinical rigor in my work, but I found and grew a passion for mental health advocacy, outreach, and preventive education. I worked on several projects aimed at reducing mental health stigma among high-risk populations including Asian seniors, adults with severe mental illnesses, and my personal favorite, high school and college students.

I became interested in ethnic studies and the social work/mental health professions as a Sociology undergraduate student at the University of San Francisco, particularly after doing my senior field work placement at a residential substance abuse recovery program serving the API community. I went on to attain masters degrees in Asian American Studies and Social Welfare at UCLA. These two disciplines are grounded deeply in the pursuit of equality and social justice, and they continue to inform how I see the world and try to empower others to change and grow. While at UCLA, I researched the experiences of Filipinx Americans and wrote my master’s thesis on racial microaggressions experienced by Filipinx American youth in Hawaii, where I grew up. Simultaneously, I studied social work and did field placements at a program serving the homeless community in Los Angeles (my first year) and in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s School Mental Health Program (my second year). Additionally, I attained the Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC) which allows me to practice social work in California’s K-12 public schools.

Angelynn Hermes

August 8, 2022 by Angelynn Hermes, LCSW

I provide online video-based therapy for adults who are seeking a respectful, collaborative space to explore their inner experiences. My strengths lie in my attentive witnessing to emotion and body as pathways to unlocking each person’s innate ability to heal themselves, access authenticity, and achieve goals to build towards their vision of a meaningful life. The language of depression, anxiety, trauma, OCD, neurodiversity and more may be helpful in addressing day to day challenges or symptoms, though I also see each person as a complex whole of self, relationships, and culture. Whatever brings you to therapy, you are welcome.

Therapy must be built on a foundation of consent, and collaboration- time after time it is the quality of one’s relationship with their therapist that predicts the time spent in therapy being beneficial. I welcome all parts of you and your history and all aspects of identity into therapy. I am explicitly LGBTQ, sex worker, kink, and non-monogamy affirming.

I am constantly humbled by how having a space to feel deeply and surface experiences that may be hard to process alone has given those I work with access to meaningful change, growth, and inner fulfillment. I can offer a range of tools (EMDR, DBT, ERP, CBT) and a groundedness in mindfulness and feminist psychotherapy to support your time in therapy.

Thomas Perkins

June 15, 2022 by Thomas Perkins

I specialize in empowering people who have experienced trauma, depression, and anxiety to access their innate resilience and healing which persist in spite of stressful life circumstances. It inspires me to make restorative connections with people built on mutual trust, safety compassion, and positive regard to get results, I combine trauma-focused and trauma-informed CBT with integrative mind-body practices, psychodynamic/psychoanalytic techniques, and Mindfulness breathwork, which together promote healing on a conscious and unconscious level.

My journey as a therapist started seven years ago during a nine year career as a high school teacher and interim dean of students. While I love children, I ultimately realized my true path lies in serving others in the clinical realm working with adults. I have always been passionate about nutrition, hiking, mental health, exercise/athletics, dreams, music, art, and spirituality, and like Carl Jung, I believe that it is who you are that heals rather than simply what you know.

An ideal patient for me is three-fold: you are a person who is committed to finding your true essence, you are interested in dreams and open to writing them down, and you are seeking to love yourself and others more compassionately. While dreams can be an important resource during therapy, they are not a prerequisite for working with me. I am privileged to be your fellow traveler, and I look forward to joining you on a path of self discovery.

Kelia Parker

June 7, 2022 by Kelia Parker

I am an experienced Licensed Clinical Social Worker and owner of 180 Urban Wellness, a wellness company of anxiety and depression therapists specializing in supporting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ identifying adults to overcome self-doubt, fear and trauma to live more fulfilling lives through incorporating mindfulness therapy and holistic services. We incorporate mindfulness based practices into our therapy sessions to address the mind body connection that Western approaches do not address.

Our practice is 100% virtual and your work with us will include identifying what your main challenges are, developing a plan to address them, and learning specific skills to cope and improve your overall well-being.

Stephanie McWoods

August 17, 2021 by Stephanie McWoods

As a therapist I aim to provide a space that is beautiful, safe, and healing for folks who have few said spaces in the world. I aim to challenge the status quo, -isms, and White Supremacy. I have spent many of my years living and surviving in these oppressive systems that were not created for me or my people. In learning to adapt and “succeed” in these systems that do not appreciate nor nourish my spirit I have transitioned to unapologetically making space for myself and thriving. I found that in being unapologetically me I have no limits to my abilities, dreams, or connections. In my work with clients, I invite them to take the leap of letting go of socially constructed views of how they should be or exist and rather settle into what they desire and what works for them. I believe life can be easy and liberating when we step outside of these oppressive and limiting systems.

I encourage clients to live their best lives unapologetically and ruthlessly. I support clients with addressing trauma, emotional hang-ups, anxiety, depression, as well as celebrating the journey to self-discovery and re-centering.

Since 2017, I have provided a number of specialized therapeutic services to those who identify as BIPOC, Queer, Gender Non Conforming, or Trans dealing with challenging life experiences. My client’s well-being is a priority, and I go above and beyond to support them through their obstacles.

I work with individuals, couples, families, groups, and organizations. I help to restore relational balance and authenticity. I provide a healing space that is welcoming to those who hold marginalized identities. My style is direct, collaborative, conversational and affirming. I use a decolonized, social justice oriented lens and focus on race-based trauma and historical trauma. I am also trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy.

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