Christina Patterson

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 3 years of experience, licensed in California and Nevada. I have 5 years of clinical internship and 17 years of substance abuse counseling while attending university for LCSW. I have worked with state and federal ex-felons, in and outpatient substance abuse, highest level of foster care, and homeless. I enjoy working with adult individuals to make the community better for all. I prefer working with adults who are seeking solutions to complex PTSD from childhood and/or young adulthood trauma. I assist adults in creating the kind of life they want to live so that they can figure out how to thrive. I am encouraging, patient, and calm. I enjoy encouraging adults to learn to walk their life path in a better happier manner.

My practice centers on complex PTSD and trauma recovery, and I am trained in EMDR therapy, including ongoing advanced certification under weekly clinical supervision. I also hold a license as a substance abuse counselor, and I integrate somatic tools, including vagus nerve stimulation, to help clients regulate their nervous systems from the ground up. My approach is educational and empowering: I want you to understand how your brain and body respond to stress, so you can build real skills that last far beyond our sessions. I work with clients via telehealth and see select in-person clients at my office in Riverside

Using motivational interviewing skills in a nonjudgmental and understanding manner, I collect your story focusing on previously used strengths and encourage a multitude of coping strategies with video tutorials that you can begin reviewing on your own time to begin practicing outside of the therapy session to develop your unique sense of empowerment. Together we will define your goals, I will provide data showing your progress so that you can see your own growth. Collaboratively, we will develop and refine your treatment results as you gain new insights into supportive and meaningful change. Being a trauma survivor myself, I have learned firsthand how a supportive partnership can educate and improve perspective. I am very passionate about providing meaningful assistance to others' capacity for emotional growth and healing creating a lasting change. I feel like I am living the dream as I get to help others in a very meaningful way that lasts.