Cristina Lugo, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW 71254)
Pronouns: She / Her / Hers
Connection and community have the power to help individuals heal and transform. Whether we are connecting with families, neighborhoods, classrooms or ourselves, youth benefit from these relationships as they grow and thrive. As a therapist and group facilitator at the Institute, my mission is to empower teens and young adults to enrich both their inner and outer connections with the world so they can overcome the obstacles in life.
In my individual and group therapy work, I use a warm, collaborative and relational approach to meet youth where they are and provide them with a safe space to express themselves freely. After establishing a relationship, youth engage in a meaningful therapy process that helps them build on their inner strengths and capabilities. This therapy process gives youth the opportunity to gain personal insight and new skills. As an experienced therapist, I have had the privilege of witnessing and supporting many clients on journeys of growth, insight, skill-building, and healing.
As we continue to recover from lockdown and cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, I am excited to offer in-person individual and group therapy services at the Institute. While telehealth services will continue to be a permanent part of my practice, I will also make my office available to clients who wish to engage in face-to-face psychotherapy in a private and comfortable environment.
Parents often ask me how they can support their youth’s therapy. When parents and I take a team approach, I’ve found that the skills the young person is working on are more likely to be practiced and integrated into daily life. When it’s clinically appropriate, I work collaboratively with parents and families to bolster connection and support at home. I offer individual sessions with caregivers along with family sessions to supplement my individual work with youth. I am also skilled at working collaboratively with teachers, school administrators, pediatricians, learning specialists, case managers and psychiatrists to coordinate services when this is needed.
Finding the right therapeutic approach for each teen and family is important. I use a wide variety of effective and well-researched approaches that are tailored to the unique needs of every client. I have a strong background in expressive therapies including child-centered play, sand tray, and creative arts interventions. I also utilize acceptance and commitment therapy also known as ACT – a very popular cognitive-behavioral treatment, EMDR – a trauma-informed treatment, narrative and solution-focused interventions as needed. Using the lens of mindfulness, I help teens and young adults strengthen the mind-body connection as a way of deepening the understanding of how these interventions work.
I draw from all of these approaches to provide clients with a set of skills and strategies that can be used and practiced between sessions in everyday life. I believe in the enduring capacity for all people to grow, no matter the obstacles at hand. Each challenge can become a lesson, teaching us how to navigate the experiences that are yet to come. I look forward to working with you and your family as we chart these waters together.
My services are available in English or Spanish.
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Specialties:
I provide support for growth in the following areas:
- Improving mood and well-being with skills and support to decrease depression, anxiety, and anger
- Building self-esteem and self-confidence
- Incorporating mindfulness
- Helping clients recover from self-injury and suicidal ideation
- Assisting clients to heal from trauma and abuse
- Supporting healthy development for LGBTQ youth and their families
- Helping youth, young adults, and families navigate acculturation and second-generation youth development
- Supporting gender non-binary, gender fluid and gender non-conforming youth and young adults
- Helping students with school transitions, including high school and college transitions
- Offering Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Providing Expressive Arts Therapies
- Offering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Providing Family Therapy
- Coaching and supporting parents in effective, positive parenting
Advanced Training:
- Certified Expressive Arts Practitioner – 220 hours of professional training with Expressive Therapies pioneer Dr. Jane Goldberg, PhD
- EMDR Trained Clinician (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), currently pursuing advanced EMDR training
- Certified Trauma Specialist – Completed training with National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children
- ACT for Beginners training with Dr. Russ Harris
- Mindfulness
- Ten years of personal practice and study in Ashtanga yoga and meditation
- Incredible Years: Parent, Teachers and Children Training Series
- Completed 21 CEUs and co-facilitated a 20-week parent training group
- Triple P: Positive Parenting Program
Articles/Videos:
Prior Experience:
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
- ChildSavers trauma response program
- MediCal, Medicaid and grant funded programs in school, home, clinic, drop-in center and treatment center settings in Los Angeles and Richmond, Virginia
Additional Information About My Experiences
Prior to joining the Institute team, I worked in a wide variety of community mental health settings for over ten years. Through these publicly funded programs, I had the privilege of serving vulnerable and historically marginalized communities while helping youth and families overcome institutional barriers.
Before transitioning to private practice, I was part of the team at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for nearly four years, working within home, school and community settings all across Los Angeles. I was able to address a wide variety of high-risk clinical challenges within communities in great need of support. It has been an honor to serve this community and I grew tremendously as a result of these experiences.
Education:
- Masters in Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Bachelors of Science in Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University
Presentations:
- Trauma and Resiliency in Children after Natural Disasters (in Spanish) – CAMBU Community Center in Las Marías, Puerto Rico
- Do It Yourself Mental Health
Mission: My mission is to empower youth to enrich their inner and outer connections so they can overcome any obstacle in life.
Email: CLugo@IFGD.care
Phone: 626-585-8075 ext. 156
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