Suzzette Garcia is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor +, Certified Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, American Psychological Association Fellow, Board Member for California’s Association of Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors and Chair of their Education and Training Committee, Board Member of Lean in Latinas and their Director of Circles and Programming, and is a recipient of the Audre Lorde Voice and Vision Award for Outstanding Social Justice Advocacy. Suzzette grew up in a small agricultural community in California’s Central Valley which influenced her becoming a social justice advocate and mental health provider. According to Suzzette “Growing up in the Central Valley taught me the impact that poverty, multi-generational trauma and systemic injustice has on a person’s mental health”.
Suzzette obtained her bachelor’s in psychology from Fresno’s National University and then went on to obtain her master’s in clinical counseling from San Francisco’s Alliant International University. Suzzette is currently the Clinical Program Manager ll for a Bay Area Non-profit Outpatient and Intensive Outpatient Program, provides psychotherapy in treating co-occurring disorders with addiction at The Meadows Behavioral Healthcare; in addition to running her own private practice. Prior to her work in mental health, Suzzette was the Founder and CEO of Inferno Elite All Starz Association, a non-profit organization that provided at risk youth access to mentoring, athletic programs, tutoring services and college application assistance.
Suzzette uses her platform to mentor beginning clinicians, spread mental health awareness in the LatinX community and implements the development of therapeutic programs that are based in neuroscience, cultural competency, accessibility and diverse therapeutic interventions. Suzzette’s goal is to empower individuals to meet their full potential through the integration of wellness and mentorship programs in schools, communities and corporate settings.