I am Sofia Mendoza, a bilingual/bicultural therapist who has specialized in mental health and psychotherapy since 2007.
When I embarked on providing therapy, I immediately fell in love with the process of healing and hope. Since then, I’ve been providing mental health services to children, adolescents, and adults in Los Angeles County.
I’ve found that therapy is the ultimate form of self-care. It’s where one can be understood and guided to act in ways that are aligned with their values and goals.
I’m passionate about helping individuals through their challenges, childhood memories, trauma, parenting and life transitions. I use a combination of strength-based, behavioral, and cognitive interventions to help clients become present, focused and skillful — all in an effort to train them to become their own therapists while developing a life worth living.
My approach combines compassion and research to help people feel validated as they take the necessary steps to reach their behavioral goals and values. I have been extensively trained in various Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) for the issues discussed above. I love learning and am committed to continuous training to enhance my skills and with the most up to date interventions and innovations in mental health treatment.
While I have received several trainings with researched backed methods, I also acknowledge research limitations. I validate the experiences of those who did not find relief with such treatments, especially for BIPOC clients.
I am committed to providing therapy to folks in marginalized communities. I continuously seek to learn and become educated on how to bring in other modalities such as Liberation Psychology, Chicana/o Psychology and Decolonizing Therapy. I believe that therapy is an art form that is informed by researched, ancestral, spiritual, and cultural practices.
We can incorporate several healing tools in your therapy journey. Please read about the APA’s apology to BIPOC communities about being complicit in the USA’s history of racism and discrimination. I’m here to validate BIPOC folxs in their experiences. As a mujer of color, I do have experienced the microaggressions, discrimination, and race based invalidation throughout my personal and professional life. I’m here for you in processing it all. I’m committed to your effort in deprogramming society’s expectations of you.
Fun Facts about me: I’ve completed three Long Beach Half-Marathons. My current method of exercise is running after or dancing with my very spirited daughter.
I love to crochet and always bring my yarn and hook everywhere I go (it’s how I self-soothe). My guilty pleasures include binge watching TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy (yes, I’m very loyal and hanging on until the end), Stranger Things, Twin Peaks, Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, Parks and Recreation, Catastrophe, Schitt’s Creek, HBO documentaries and Jane the Virgin.
My favorite movies tend to be biographical and musical in nature. That means that ‘Selena’ is at the top of the list. KLOVE is the only radio station I listen to these days because it helps me stay in tune with Spanish language news and music, and I’m committed to bilingualism in my family.
Sofia Mendoza, LCSW offers courses, workshops, and trainings for the public as well as mental health professionals online and throughout Long Beach, Los Angeles and Orange County California. All courses center mental wellness and creating a space to support individuals and professionals in collective healing.
Licensed clinical social worker (LCS28884)
I am a bilingual/bicultural therapist who has specialized in mental health and psychotherapy since 2007.
Available for psychotherapy appointments for first generation professionals, burnout, depression, anxiety, and more virtually, or in Long Beach, California.
