Dr. Gabriel Ruiz

You may be doing well on the outside while still feeling anxious, overwhelmed, on edge, or affected by experiences from your past. Difficult relationships, traumatic experiences, chronic stress, or major life changes can continue to shape how you feel about yourself and connect with others long after they happen.

I’m Dr. Gabriel Ruiz, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California specializing in trauma therapy and EMDR. I work with adolescents and adults who want to better understand these patterns, heal from difficult experiences, and feel more confident and grounded in their lives.

Many of the clients I work with experience anxiety, emotional overwhelm, people-pleasing, low self-worth, relationship difficulties, or feeling stuck despite knowing what they would like to change. Therapy can be a place to understand where these patterns come from while developing healthier ways of responding to them.

I’m particularly passionate about working with adolescents and adults navigating life transitions, relationships, identity, academic or career stress, and difficult experiences. I earned my Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) from Simmons University, my MSW from California State University, Bakersfield, and my bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

My approach is warm, collaborative, affirming, and trauma-informed. I specialize in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and also draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused CBT, and DBT-informed strategies depending on your needs and goals.

I believe trauma can affect much more than our thoughts. Past experiences can influence our emotions, relationships, self-esteem, nervous system, and sense of safety, even when we understand logically that the experience is over.

Because of this, our work may go beyond simply talking about what happened. EMDR and other trauma-focused approaches can help us work with painful memories, beliefs, emotions, and patterns that continue to affect your life today. Therapy is always paced around your needs, and we’ll work together to determine what feels appropriate and helpful for you.

My goal is not to tell you how you should feel or what you should do. Instead, I want to help you better understand yourself, recognize patterns that may no longer be serving you, and develop a greater sense of confidence, safety, and trust in yourself.

Clients often describe me as down-to-earth, compassionate, and easy to talk to. I know starting therapy or starting over with a new therapist can feel uncomfortable, so our first sessions will focus on getting to know you at a pace that feels manageable.

We’ll talk about what brings you to therapy, what has and hasn’t worked for you in the past, and what you would like to be different. From there, we’ll develop a plan together rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

You do not need to share every detail of a difficult or traumatic experience right away. Building trust and a sense of safety comes first. If we decide EMDR or deeper trauma work would be helpful, I’ll explain the process and make sure you understand what we’re doing and why.

Therapy with me is collaborative and genuine. There can be room for difficult conversations, reflection, humor, and simply being human. Ultimately, I want you to leave therapy not only feeling understood, but with a better understanding of yourself and tools you can continue using outside of our sessions.