Gisella Tavarez, LMHC-D, LPC

I'm a first-generation Latina, born and raised in Brooklyn. I’m also an eldest-daughter, complete with the over-achieving, perfectionist, people-pleasing tendencies that may sound all too familiar. Those aren't just facts about me; they shape how I understand the clients I work with best.

My clinical career began in some of New York City's most demanding environments. For nearly a decade, I worked within the correctional system. This included providing mental health care on Rikers Island to people navigating crisis, trauma, and systems that were never designed to support them. That work shaped everything about how I show up as a therapist. I learned to stay steady in the room no matter what came through the door. I learned that people are more than their worst moments. And I learned that burnout- real, bone-deep burnout- doesn't just happen to the people I was treating. It happens to everyone at different phases of their life, many times, more than once.

From there I moved into community mental health clinics across New York City, working with individuals and families facing anxiety, depression, trauma, and various life transitions. I kept seeing the same pattern: “high-functioning” people- often first-generation professionals, often eldest or only daughters- stoically falling apart under the weight of holding everything together for everyone else that depended on them. That experience, more than thirteen years of it, is what led me to build Guided Therapy Co.

I work from a culturally responsive, liberation-psychology-informed lens. The modalities I use are dependent on the needs at hand. If you're a BIPOC professional, a first-gen kid, or the one who's always been "strong and reliable", I understand that in a way that isn't just academic for me.

A teenager I worked with once told me I could "fake relate", meaning he could tell I actually meant the things I was saying to him. That's stuck with me over the years, because it's exactly what I aim for: when I show up, it resonates enough that people end up sharing things they've never said out loud before.

The first session with me is really about figuring out if we're a good fit. I want to know you as a person, not a host of symptoms. If I'm not the right fit for you, I'll help you find someone who is.