Jose Luna, ASW #87743

I hold a Master's degree in Social Work from USC which I received in 2018 with an emphasis on children, youth, and families. I also hold a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from UC Riverside, emphasizing in Developmental and Cognitive Psychology. My clinical expertise focuses on a wide range of clients; children, teenagers, adults, couples, and families. However, currently, I mainly focus on adults and couples.

My post-graduate training has been primarily with young adults and couples suffering from Bipolar Disorders, Depression, Anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder, Relational Conflict, and Childhood Abandonment Issues. I have also worked with clients with many different ethnic backgrounds, including but not limited to sexual minorities (LGBTQ+).

Healing The Pain!

My therapeutic approach is a strengths-based approach. It focuses on the client’s existing resources, resilience, and positive qualities in an effort to use these abilities to improve quality of life and reduce problematic symptoms. I realize many clients are enduring a lot of pain and are sometimes ashamed. I provide a safe space for all my clients. I understand and empathize with the challenges that come with trauma, anxiety, and depression. The aim of strengths-based therapy is to improve the client’s mindset and instill a positive worldview so they can perceive themselves as resourceful and resilient when they are experiencing adverse conditions.

Evidence-Based Practices

While providing therapy, I draw from various evidence-based practices and tailor them to your needs. These modalities include:

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR has shown to be extremely effective in treating various traumas. In EMDR therapy, the client focuses on a troubling image or negative thought while simultaneously moving their eyes back and forth. To prompt this eye moment, EMDR practitioners might move their fingers from side to side, tap their hand from side to side, or wave a wand. The client moves their eyes back and forth to follow the prompt. During this processing, the client notices whatever thoughts, feelings, images, memories, or sensations might arise. The eye movements prompt the brain to make associations and neural connections that help integrate the disturbing memories. Eventually, the distress associated with the memory dissolves.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): understanding how our thoughts, feelings and behaviors are all interconnected to impact how we function can help us begin healing from symptoms of depression, anxiety, and trauma. Some strategies include challenging and reframing distortions and developing effective coping skills to improve emotional regulation.

Problem-Solving Therapy: understanding our emotions and adopting the realistic optimistic view of coping and developing an action plan to reduce symptoms of distress to promote well-being.

Motivational Interviewing: MI is a collaborative, goal-oriented style of communication with particular attention to the language of change. It is designed to strengthen personal motivation for and commitment to a specific goal by eliciting and exploring the person’s own reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion.

Gottman Method Couples Therapy: research-based interventions to assist couples with addressing their relationship problems, one of which is understanding and combating the four horsemen of the apocalypse (criticisms, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling) to repair relationships.

Attachment-Based Therapy: Attachment-based therapy is a brief, process-oriented form of psychological counseling. The client-therapist relationship is based on developing or rebuilding trust and centers on expressing emotions. An attachment-based approach to therapy looks at the connection between an infant’s early attachment experiences with primary caregivers, usually with parents, and the infant’s ability to develop normally and ultimately form healthy emotional and physical relationships as an adult. Attachment-based therapy aims to build or rebuild a trusting, supportive relationship that will help prevent or treat anxiety or depression.

Please allow me the opportunity to support and guide you through your healing journey and help you navigate through these challenges with an empathetic ear, kind heart, and evidence-based educational and therapeutic techniques tailored to your needs. I provide individual therapy sessions for 50 minutes/$130 per session and couples therapy sessions for 50 minutes/$150 per session.

Please do not hesitate to contact me for a free 20-minute consultation

I look forward to connecting with you!

E-mail: joselunatherapy@gmail.com
Phone: (323) 240-0517