Hello! Hola!

I’m Brii (she/her/ella), a bilingual & trauma-informed clinical therapist, art therapist, certified yoga teacher, and multidisciplinary artist practicing in Austin, TX.

I am also a first-generation, queer, bicultural Latina, mother, and lifelong student.

My passion for healing has included working with both English and Spanish-speaking children, young adults, and adults in community mental health care and residential care in both inpatient and outpatient treatment settings.

My goal as a therapist is to collaborate with you on your journey. I approach clinical work from a trauma-informed, healing-centered perspective and I believe in the power of healing through storytelling and creative expression. I am passionate about the intersections of mental health, advocacy, and the process of creating to explore the relationship with the self and others. Particular care and attention is given to intersectionality; the interconnectedness of our social identities (age, race, ethnicity, gender, language, class, disability, and religion, among others) is at the core of everyday experience, life stories, and bodies and that it informs our movement, relationships, and place in the world. I strive to practice from an anti-oppressive framework that affirms and celebrates all of my clients’ identities. But, most importantly, I am here to meet you exactly where you are and to help you explore the power you hold within.

I’m an advocate of using art as a medium for nurturing the soul, healing the inner self, and for deep self-care. I am an active member of professional associations, including the American Art Therapy Association and the South Texas Art Therapy Association. I have also been actively making art on my own time and have exhibited my work in San Francisco, Chicago, and Austin.

In my personal life, you can find me spending time with my family, exploring spring-fed swimming holes, hiking and running, practicing yoga, and making art (which you can check out more here!).

I’m so happy you are here.

Education

Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling (MAATC), School of the Art Insitute of Chicago, 2023

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science International Relations and French & Francophone Studies, UCLA, 2012

Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (Texas) (#92559)

Registered Art Therapist Provisional (#23-313)

Certified Yoga Teacher, Modo Yoga International

Learn more!

  • I provide individual and group therapy services, artwork sales, commission sales, and individual and group yoga. All of my services are available in English and Spanish.

  • Included but not limited to:

    • Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault (including but not limited to survivors of narcissistic abuse, adult and child sexual abuse, and domestic violence)

    • LGBTQIA+ community

    • Those experiencing mood disorders and difficulties such as anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder.

    • Those experiencing emotional disturbance difficulties with complex trauma-related stressors and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

    • Those experiencing psychosis, delusions, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

    • Complex family dynamics

    • Effects of chronic illness and stigma

    • Exploration of self-identity and self-esteem.

    • Immigration-specific trauma, third culture individuals, asylum-seekers.

    • Perinatal mental health (pregnancy, prenatal, birth, postpartum).

    • Couples, including new parents and newly married.

    • English and Spanish speakers.

  • I utilize trauma-informed approaches and collaboration with you to to curate a unique guide to treatment. My offerings include but are not limited to:

    • Art Therapy

    • Services in English and Spanish

    • Body-based techniques

    • Dialectical Behavior Therapy & Mindfulness

    • Person-Centered Approach

    • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

    • Emotion Focused Therapy

    • Attachment Therapy

    • Work with Pre-Teen, Adolescents, Adult, & Elders

    • Harm Reduction Techniques

    • Immigration Trauma

    • Trauma-Informed Yoga

  • My approach to therapy is collaborative, intentional, and flexible. Ultimately I am informed by what a client needs during each visit, guided by goals for treatment. A few approaches I am informed by include but are not limited to:

    • Cultural-relational theories (guided by biopsychosocial and cultural influences)

    • Social Identity theory

    • Trauma-informed care

    • Polyvagal theory

    • Neuropsychology

    • Mindfulness and Movement

    • Attachment theory

    • Intersectional, feminist-based psychotherapy

    • Developmental psychology

    • Person-centered approaches

    • Psychodynamic approaches

What is it like to use art in therapy?

As an artist and art therapist, I believe that art is a powerful therapeutic tool that supports the release of feelings that are sometimes too difficult to verbalize. Art therapy is a form of therapy that utilizes art in its many forms as a way of allowing people to express themselves; it provides an alternative way to express feelings through the use of verbal communication and self-expression within the art process. The nonverbal use of art can break through obstacles and make verbal expression more accessible. I view work with this evidence-based approach as a way to safely and slowly unravel narratives to create meaning, understanding, and empowerment in the long run in alignment with therapeutic goals.

An art therapy session can look different for every client. I collaborate with clients in engaging art projects as a method of self-expression, clarity, and grounding, among others. I draw from a strong background of a variety of artistic mediums that include but are not limited to sculpture (hand building, collage, altered books, clay, and mixed media), drawing, painting, fiber and textiles (sewing, knitting, crochet, punch needle, embroidery, sewing, weaving, basket making, dyeing), photography, and performance. I utilize these art forms in conjunction with my approaches to therapy to facilitate a creative and safe therapeutic experience.

I believe in creating a strong therapist-client alliance and a safe space for clients to explore themselves. I collaborate with clients to explore individual life narratives in a way that is more consistent with personal life goal(s) and identity(ies). In a session, clients are encouraged to make their own discoveries and become empowered through the development of curiosity, intuition, creativity, nonjudgement, awareness, and altruism, with the hope of finding acceptance and openness within themselves.

Here are some resources to learn more: American Art Therapy Association, South Texas Art Therapy Association


A quick note on my art-based research & community-based work…

I am interested in exploring the relationship between myself and my identities through research of the body-mind connection, engagement in community-based work, and learning about the systems that have the potential to hold space for relevant interactions. I believe that artistic expression is relational. I believe that artistic expression is in the processes of advocacy and healing that lead to emotional clarity and empowerment. I hope to start conversations about how narratives shape who we are and form our communities in expressions of the unspeakable.

My work walks the line of art and craft; I flirt with the contrasting and interwoven intersections of art and craft as an experiment of beauty and function, of ethnoaesthetics and utility. I chose to focus on the intersection of art and craft as an ode to my Hispanic ancestors, craft traditions passed on from my family, and to call

on stored memory in my body: my work culminates in uplifting voices of nostalgia and memory ranging from blissful to traumatic that are stored through ritual and repetition. I am interested in how identity is formed in the spaces of ritual and repetition, how this informs identity formation of the intersectional self, how this influences intentional and unintentional performances in space, and how explorations of identity can inform subjective notions of individual and community healing.

I am currently working on mixed media, performance, and textile pieces exhibiting mental and physical health topics that surface in the intersections of ancestry, childhood trauma, and mothering. I challenge myself and others to be more critical about mental and physical health topics, particularly related to birthing, movement, connection, and death.