Kristine Cotangco

My name is Kristine Cotangco and I am a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT).

What sets me apart from other therapists is my conceptualization of problems as a systemic issue. In other words, I believe that a problematic situation is never the fault of (or resolved by) one person, but rather the accumulation of factors including you, the people around you, and the environment in which you live. I work to have an understanding of the bigger picture so that I can help you overcome patterns of behavior, rather than simply helping you through an isolated incident.

One of my biggest goals in my role as a therapist is to help others feel seen and understood. This means that I try to meet you where you are, understand things from your perspective, find your strengths, and leverage them to your advantage. I’ll help you get to know your stress reactions, identify your coping strategies, learn how to communicate your feelings and needs, and find strategies that will help you bounce back.

Whether or not we decide to include others in your sessions, I will empower you to share and teach the skills you’ve learned with those around you. Furthermore, I will help connect you with appropriate resources to overcome barriers and help you maintain the progress you’ve made during treatment.

Together, we will work to develop skills and identify resources that will help you feel better prepared to overcome the inevitable ups and downs of life, leading to a resilient lifestyle you can sustain.

During our first session I will ask questions that will help me get to know you, the situation that brings you in, and the context in which the situation is occurring. While I begin to understand the problem, you’ll also get to know how I work. This will be a great time to see how you feel with me in the room. Do I seem like someone you can trust? The therapeutic relationship is one of the biggest factors in predicting success in therapy, so please make sure that this is a good fit for you. Lastly, we will discuss how we will achieve the changes you wish to see.