Nina Gonzaga
Nina Gonzaga is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who prioritizes authenticity—humaning alongside other humans.
Nina specializes working in women’s mental health and teen mental health, with a special focus on marginalized populations and women of color. She is a first-generation Filipino American, and she integrates her experience with immigrant culture into her therapy practice.
Nina’s values are curiosity, respect and honesty, with a commitment in making therapy a safe space for her clients. Her top priority is helping clients feel capable, supported, and in touch with their own self-efficacy. Most clients who seek work with Nina are looking to address grief, anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic health concerns, acculturation issues, academic pressures, relationship distress, and systemic stressors.
Originally from California, Nina earned her Masters of Science in Marital and Family Therapy at Loma Linda University, School of Behavioral Health. Nina came alive when working with couples and dedicated her Masters thesis to integrating Emotion-Focused Therapy into couple’s work. After graduating Nina wanted to expand her experience to childhood development and dedicated most of her training hours to community mental health working with children, teens and families in South and Central Los Angeles.
After gaining licensure, Nina spent a year abroad in a US territory working with lower resourced communities, reawakening her love of working with adults. When the pandemic hit, Nina and her partner moved back to the States. Since moving back to the States, Nina’s working with her favorite population to date: high-functioning women who are impacted by anxiety, depression, grief, and complex trauma (including medical and health-related trauma).
Individual Therapy
Many women are highly capable and often high-functioning, even when there are underlying mental health concerns. Life is not without challenges and deeply painful or overwhelming moments. Nina’s goal is to help her clients get in touch with their capabilities, see the choices available to them, show up fully to their lives, and build secure and healthy relationships with themselves and others.
Couple Therapy
Couples struggling with communication often feel misunderstood, disconnected or stuck in repetitive patterns of conflict. These challenges can create emotional distance and increase frustration, making it harder to express needs and listen empathetically. For couple therapy, Nina focuses on addressing relational ruptures, and seeing how partners work together for relationship repair. While focusing on communication skills, Nina helps partners build trust, deepen intimacy, and resolve conflicts in healthier ways. Nina integrates EFT and PACT modalities with a humanistic approach.
Licensing
Nina is licensed and can work with residents of Washington, California, and Oregon. Nina does virtual appointments for clients located in California and Oregon. Nina sees clients in-person at Full Spectrum the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month.
Outside of work, Nina is an avid reader, loves traveling abroad, and going out for a good run. She loves doing life with her partner, Justin and her two cats, Bise and Higgs.
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Nina Gonzaga collaborates with but is not employed by Dr. Brooke Winner.