Monica Valdivia Aguilar, M.A.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist – LMFT 41352
Clinical Supervisor for Master’s Level Therapists
Pronouns: She / Her / Hers / Ella
Welcome! I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at the Institute for Girls’ Development and Flourish Therapy + Wellness Center, a division of the Institute that serves all ages and all genders. I have a specialty in working with high school seniors and young women as they prepare to launch into this new stage of life. I also have a passion for working with women navigating through career, relationships, social-cultural and family dynamics. My goal is to empower women to develop resiliency and self-compassion and to provide them with the tools for managing each phase of life.
In my therapy work, I use relational-cultural, collaborative, strength-based, embodiment- and skills-based approaches. I support each client’s growth as we work together to help access resiliency in healing through life’s challenges – helping them connect with their authentic voice, reducing their inner self critic, and identifying the boundaries they want to maintain in friendships, dating, and family relationships. I also really enjoy family therapy with high school seniors and young adults.
As a therapist who is bi-cultural and bi-lingual, all of my services are available in English and/or Spanish – and I welcome integrating both languages in our work together.
Specialties:
I provide support for growth in the following areas:
- Helping high school seniors and young women emotionally prepare for the transitions, opportunities, demands, and challenges of high school, college, and graduate school life
- Working with adult women – helping support women as they journey through the intersections of career, culture, family, and coping with the ongoing changes dating, long term relationships, marriage, and family can bring
- Working with women of culturally diverse backgrounds
- Identifying and developing inner strengths and skills to cope with life’s challenges
- Understanding and managing depression and anxiety
- Working with embodiment, body image, and one’s relationship with food
- Facilitating recovery from trauma
Additional Information about my Specialties:
I have a specialty in working with college-age young adults, graduate students, and early career professionals. I help clients find new tools and techniques for creating effective ways to manage depression and anxiety. In addition, I have a passion for working with women to enhance their connections in their relationships. I am a Certified Advanced Clinician in an effective model of couple therapy called Imago Relationship Therapy.
Clinical Supervisor for Master’s Level Associates:
As Clinical Supervisor of the Institute’s Master’s Level Associates Therapists, I have the honor of walking alongside and assisting our next generation of therapists with training and supervision. I have a passion for supporting new therapists in their growth and development as we work collaboratively to help create positive change for our clients. I am a Certified Supervisor through both AAMFT and CAMFT.
Presentations & Workshops:
I enjoy providing presentations and workshops to young women in college, early career professionals, and organizations.
- Developing Healthy Relationships: A Workshop for College Students
- Surviving a Breakup: A Workshop for Young Women and Women in their 20s and 30s
- Adjusting to Life After College: College Seniors and Post-College Graduates
- Thriving & Developing Grit in College: A Workshop for Young Women in their Senior Year of High School and College Freshman
Articles:
Navigating your First Year in College
Helping your Daughter Successfully Navigate her First Year in College
Balancing Life in your 20s: Five Tips for the Successful Early Career Professional Woman
Advanced Training:
- AAMFT and CAMFT Certified Supervisor
- Certified Imago Relationship Therapist for Couple Therapy
- Certified Advanced Clinician in Imago Relationship Therapy for Couples
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Foundational and Multiple Advanced Trainings
- Foundational DBT Training with Charles Swenson, M.D. in 2017
Prior Experience:
College mental health counseling services at Woodbury University – counseling undergraduate and graduate students and supporting first-generation college students in their journey through college and graduate school.
Nonprofit community work:
- Valley Family Center
- Center for Interpersonal Development
- Child and Family Center
- School-based and clinic-based services
Education:
- Master of Arts, Psychology, emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy, Phillips Graduate Institute
- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of La Verne
Mission: My mission is to empower young women and women to reconnect with their inner voices, honor their own cultural and diverse world experiences, heal from emotional wounds and pain, and develop healthy ways of communicating and connecting in relationship to others.
Email: MValdivia@IFGD.care
Phone: 626-585-8075 ext. 112
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