In person therapy for teens and adults in Pasadena, Northeast LA and online throughout California
Root down, rise up, and claim your whole self
Holistic and culturally conscious therapy to help you reconnect with your voice and build the life you want
This space is for the ones who feel deeply but often feel misunderstood by the world around them.
For the ones who care a lot about identity, justice, their world and their future but feel overwhelmed by it all.
For sensitive, creative, thoughtful people who are exhausted from carrying pain but feel stuck in endless cycles.
Whether you’re navigating life anxiety, school pressure, existential pain, or struggling relationships, we’ll work together to untangle it and build on your inner strengths.
❋ Therapy for adults building their lives
❃ Support for teen girls and nonbinary youth
❁ Guidance for parents seeking reconnection
Maybe you’re in search of answers on how anyone is supposed to break into
“adulting” right now, when everything feels so scary…
Feeling pressure to be perfect at school, with friends, online, even at home but constantly worrying you’re not enough
You’ve applied for dozens of jobs feeling lost and unsure of your path. The fear of being unsuccessful fuels the job search, and the spiraling…
You want to find close relationships, but can’t break out of self-defeating spirals and wonder if you ever will.
Overthinking every interaction and replaying it in your head late at night.
And beneath all of it there’s the ache.
The ache of feeling stuck. The ache of wanting connection and not knowing how to find it. The ache of carrying so much and thinking, “Why can’t I just be normal?”
You deserve a space where you feel seen and understood.
A space where you can feel anchored to your roots, that honors your voice and helps you shape the future you really want.
This is where that changes. This is where we do the important work of freeing you from your pain and growing from your past.
Maybe you’re in search of answers on how anyone is supposed to break into
“adulting” right now, when everything feels so scary…
- Feeling pressure to be perfect at school, with friends, online, even at home — but constantly worrying you’re not enough
- You applied for that first job but deep down you feel kind of lost and not sure if it's the path you want for your life, but you feel terrified of letting everyone else down
- You want to find a close relationship, but can’t break out of self-defeating spirals and wonder if you ever will
- Overthinking every interaction and replaying it in your head late at night
If you’re here, it’s probably because everything feels like a lot right now, school, family, work, relationships, the state of the world, and the noise inside your head.
You’ve been doing your best getting by and juggling life.
❃ Maybe that means pushing your feelings down, putting on a smile, or trying to be the version of yourself everyone expects.
❉ Maybe you’ve tried to explain this pain you feel, it’s in your body and you feel it whenever you slow down. It’s hard to talk about so you try to ignore it.
A Note for Parents:
If you’re a parent reading this: thank you for being here. Your young person might not have the words to say it, but your support matters more than you know.
This work isn’t about pointing fingers, it’s about creating space for understanding, reconnection, and growth on both sides. I’ll help you understand what your teen is feeling, why it’s so hard for them to talk about it, and how you can walk beside them through their journey.
You want clarity, peace, connection
But instead, you’re stuck in your head, spiraling through anxious thoughts, or just feeling numb.
There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re not too sensitive, too complicated, or too broken.
That’s where therapy with me is different.
This isn’t about fixing you. It’s about helping you connect with your inner wisdom and getting locked in with navigating the mess we’re
all
collectively in. This is about getting back on track with carving out the life you really want, even in these current times.
In this space, we are not afraid to call out systemic racism, institutionalized oppression against LGBTQ identities and other legacies of harm that get passed down through the generations and our nervous systems. In this space, we will focus on your liberation through community, self-understanding and science-backed tools like EMDR. You are the expert on your own lived experience- and when we start on a foundation of trusting you, it sets the stage for you to trust yourself.
Here’s What Makes Me Different
My approach is eclectic, collaborative, and deeply human.
EMDR to help process trauma and build resilience.
Somatic and mindful practices to reconnect you with your body and ground you.
Creative and expressive tools like journaling, art, and parts work.
Group and individual therapy that honors connection, vulnerability, and authentic expression.
EMDR to help process trauma and build resilience.
Somatic and mindful practices to reconnect you with your body and ground you.
Creative and expressive tools like journaling, art, and parts work.
Group and individual therapy that honors connection, vulnerability, and authentic expression.
How to get started
Individual Psychotherapy for adults and teens
❋ Therapy for girl and nonbinary teens 8th-12th grade.
❃ Therapy for 20’s and 30’s adults.
✺
Parent coaching and youth/parent sessions.
Group therapy for teens
Thrive Together is a weekly in person therapy group for adolescent girls and nonbinary youth.
❋ Two group options: Wednesdays or Thursdays at 5:30pm
EMDR therapy
As an EMDR Certified Therapist™, I am qualified to provide EMDR focused therapy, adjunctive EMDR along with a different therapist or weave EMDR into our eclectic therapeutic work.
Looking for connection?
Download The Ultimate Guide to Finding Community in a New City or School
I’m Cristina Lugo, LCSW
a licensed therapist who helps adolescents and adults find their roots, grow into their identity and thrive
I believe deeply in our innate capacity to heal, grow, and transform. Society doesn’t make that process easy. We face pain, get stuck, and sometimes feel overwhelmed by the weight of it all.
There is a path forward, but it’s not always easy to find. A big part of my work is helping you blaze this trail and collaborating with your success. Using a combination of warmth, mindfulness, brain/body science, creativity and sharing knowledge, I help keep your process moving toward living the life you want.
As a Puerto Rican-American therapist, I bring a culturally responsive, decolonizing lens to this work. I understand that our struggles aren’t just internal, they're shaped by larger systems that impact how we live, relate, and find belonging. If you're navigating second-generation or multicultural identity, I’ve got you. Let's lock in on the life you truly want.
Let’s create a space that honors your complexity and supports your power
You deserve a space where your story is honored, your voice is heard, and your growth is supported.
Testimonials
Cristina is a committed, conscientious, and inventive therapist. She and I co-facilitated a middle school therapy group for nearly five years. During our time as co-facilitators, I deeply valued her ability to utilize a trauma- informed, culturally sensitive framework to understand each individual group member. Her approach supported the development of a safe and trustworthy group space, which allowed members to engage authentically and form meaningful connections with one another. She coined the term “culture of caring” to describe the space that we (facilitators and group members) co-created. This term became a way to describe one of the core values of the group when welcoming new members. The term also describes the way in which Cristina practices therapy and engages with the world.
Dr. Angela Youngs
I found Cristina after a few unsuccessful attempts at traditional talk therapy. I was looking to try EMDR to tackle some recurring challenges in romantic relationships. From our first session, Cristina fostered a warm and nonjudgemental environment where I feel safe diving into some of the most tender parts of my past. Now, with Cristina’s help, I am able to see my past as a tool to understand how to successfully reach my goals and not something to be ashamed of. I finally feel like I am on the right path to achieving my goals and living a life where I can welcome authentic love and feel compassion for myself.
Cristina is a committed, conscientious, and inventive therapist. She and I co-facilitated a middle school therapy group for nearly five years. During our time as co-facilitators, I deeply valued her ability to utilize a trauma- informed, culturally sensitive framework to understand each individual group member. Her approach supported the development of a safe and trustworthy group space, which allowed members to engage authentically and form meaningful connections with one another. She coined the term “culture of caring” to describe the space that we (facilitators and group members) co-created. This term became a way to describe one of the core values of the group when welcoming new members. The term also describes the way in which Cristina practices therapy and engages with the world.
Dr. Angela Youngs
I found Cristina after a few unsuccessful attempts at traditional talk therapy. I was looking to try EMDR to tackle some recurring challenges in romantic relationships. From our first session, Cristina fostered a warm and nonjudgemental environment where I feel safe diving into some of the most tender parts of my past. Now, with Cristina’s help, I am able to see my past as a tool to understand how to successfully reach my goals and not something to be ashamed of. I finally feel like I am on the right path to achieving my goals and living a life where I can welcome authentic love and feel compassion for myself.
Read my blog
