Hey! I’m Lina. My path to becoming a psychodynamic therapist was not linear; it grew out of years working across cultures, languages, and systems of power. I grew up in public housing outside Paris as the daughter of a Puerto Rican immigrant. My early years were shaped by both socialized healthcare and a political culture that questioned authority. Living in several countries and embracing the experience of being an outsider deeply informed how I understand identity, alienation, belonging, and the ways people adapt to survive.
Before becoming a clinician, I worked in political marketing, translation, and restaurant management, experiences that sharpened my attention to human behavior, communication, and emotional labor. I now work as a psychotherapist and clinical social worker within a hospital setting, providing psychodynamic therapy to immigrants, queer and trans individuals, and others navigating trauma, displacement, and systemic precarity.
MY POV
Lina
Soft. Strong. Messy. Brave. Tired. Enough. Always enough.
Soft. Strong. Messy. Brave. Tired. Enough. Always enough.
Soft. Strong. Messy. Brave. Tired. Enough. Always enough.
Soft. Strong. Messy. Brave. Tired. Enough. Always enough.
My therapy philosophy is grounded in the belief that much of human suffering comes from being pulled away from oneself, whether by trauma, by early relationships, by social pressure to conform, or by systems that reward subjugation over authenticity. Many people learn to survive by fragmenting parts of themselves: needs are silenced, emotions are numbed. identities are made smaller to what feels acceptable or safe. Over time, this can lead to anxiety, internal conflict, and a dull sense of alienation, even in the presence of others. I understand symptoms not as defects to eliminate, but as meaningful responses to environments that required compromise of the self.
My work is relational and psychodynamic, meaning change happens through the therapeutic relationship itself. Together, we pay close attention to patterns, unconscious dynamics, and what emerges between us in real time. This process supports individuation, the gradual movement toward wholeness, where previously disowned parts of the self can be honored and integrated. Therapy becomes a space where conformity can be questioned, identity explored with nuance, and trauma metabolized rather than managed. The goal is not to become someone new, but to feel more whole, less divided, and more at home in your own inner life.
Soft. Strong. Messy. Brave. Tired. Enough. Always enough.
Soft. Strong. Messy. Brave. Tired. Enough. Always enough.
9 things about my therapy style
*Vulnerable is the most powerful thing you can be
*Therapy is political
*Sometimes, the answer is clear, we just don’t want to hear it
*Nothing is irrelevant to therapy
*The revolution is inner
*Friends are family too
*Swearing is a since of intelligence and authenticity
*I have been in therapy most of my life and I know firsthand how transformative it can be
*My cats make regular cameo appearances for quality assurance purposes
