about me:
Hi there! My name is Angie, and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and therapist based in Orange County, CA, working with clients statewide via telehealth. I am passionate about guiding my clients through challenging and traumatic life experiences towards healing and self-acceptance. I work with adults and couples and specialize in depression, anxiety, trauma, and loss within the context of a cancer diagnosis, chronic illness, caregiver burnout, grief and loss, bereavement, separation and/or divorce, childhood sexual abuse, and sexual assault in adulthood, among others.
I have been working in the outpatient medical oncology setting (i.e. cancer center or clinic) for seven years now, as part of a multidisciplinary team made up of different medical professionals who work together to provide holistic care to oncology patients. In this role, I provide short-term psychotherapy, resource referral to address barriers to care, and overall guidance and advocacy to individuals, couples, and families affected by cancer.
Five years prior, I served as a Victim Advocate for Orange County’s rape crisis center. My role included providing crisis counseling via the center hotline, accompaniment and moral support during hospital exams and interviews with law enforcement, short-term counseling services for survivors, and community outreach and education.
I think every person experiences some sort of hardship throughout their life. Me included. Childhood trauma and loss made me aware of the adversities people can go through and how lonely and scary it can feel. This was the catalyst for a career in Social Work and mental health.
For me, therapy has been key in helping me challenge and correct negative thoughts, change counterproductive behaviors, learn to love myself, build trust in myself + others, make peace with asking for help, and allow my loved ones to support me in my healing journey.
Both professionally and personally, I have learned how to care for my whole self in different ways that allow me to continue doing this work. A big part of that is asking for support from colleagues and loved ones when I need it.
As a clinician and a human being, it is an honor to accompany my clients through difficult situations and witness their growth and resilience as they navigate their emotional challenges and find ways to overcome them. It’s a privilege to be a part of their healing journey and support them in achieving a greater sense of well-being and understanding of themselves.
why this work?
“In our fragile and crowded world we can survive only together. We can be truly free, ultimately, only together. We can be human only together.” —Desmond Tutu
The name GiraSoul is a play on words and meanings for the sunflower. In Spanish, its name is girasol [hee-rah-sohl], and it was my mother’s favorite flower.
I believe both joy and suffering are natural parts of life, and that we are all imperfect beings trying to do our best with what we know and what we have.
I am especially trained in counseling related to cancer, grief and loss, bereavement, and caregiver stress. My secondary specialization is working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault.
I believe people inherently need one another. We are social beings who were born to connect, be interdependent, and have community.
Humor is very important to me, even in trying times. I wholeheartedly believe that joy can be found no matter what we are going through.
I am a mom to two wonderful little humans, two sweet cats, and two sassy dogs. I’m also a wife, a sister, an aunt, and a friend. I speak Spanish fluently and I love photography!