Cris Maria Fort Garcés LCAT

If you decide to move forward with us, you will be given a dedicated time slot and a HIPPA protected Zoom link to begin your weekly 45-minute telehealth or coaching sessions. You will also be connected to our portal where you can view and sign our practice forms. Our first session will be blend of a session and an intake to make sure forms and pertinent information is shared by both the client and therapist. You might be wondering, “how should I prepare for my first session with you?” There is no need to prepare anything. Therapy is an exploration of the self. Let’s get to know you just as you are. If you do want to prepare, please bring art supplies and any other healing tools you'd like to be part of therapy. We’d also love to hear about what you want to get out of therapy and your ideas about what therapy is or can be. It may also be supportive (but not necessary) to consider the following: 1. You're curiosity will be your biggest ally. 2. Staying with and reporting on your present moment experiences 3. Sharing your honest reactions to creative experiments in mindfulness, especially if you don't like how something feels or if you simply don't want to do something - often a great exploration can come from this. 4. Allowing your reactions to happen as much as you safely can 5. Some willingness to experience uncomfortable feelings

We might be a great fit if any of this sounds like you. Are you: -Feeling lonely, sad, or depressed? -Recovering from trauma or abuse? -Going through a difficult life transition? -Struggling with daily anxiety & fears? -Living with shame & deeply negative self-talk? -Engaging in & repeating unhealthy patterns of behavior? -Having trouble identifying your needs & getting them met? -Having difficulty setting limits or establishing boundaries? -Wanting to show up with more vulnerability & trust? -Wanting to access your voice & improve your communication with others? Creative Now Therapy's Process: Healing begins by being with what isn't working & adding some curiosity. This is easier said than done and takes courage & practice. Likely walls & stories have been built that kept you emotionally safe as a child but are no longer working in your adult life. By blending Somatic, Gestalt, & Creative interventions, we'll honor these walls & stories while safely shifting into a more authentic You. Paradoxically, your difficult feelings and experiences are the doorways to the healing and resources within yourself. Consider this metaphor… In being with what is, we begin to turn on the lights in the dark rooms and corners of your psyche-body. With this increased visibility, we get to decide if we want to stay in the room, change the furniture around, open a window, or leave the room entirely to explore others. Ultimately, this process will enhance your ability to get your needs met, make better choices, move more easily through your shifting experience, & life’s uncertainty. It can support you in feeling safer in yourself and your body. We'd love to be a part of helping you feel more alive and excited about your life.

I blend Somatic, Gestalt, and Creative arts therapy to generate a dynamic, holistic, and experiential therapy that focuses on your present moment experience and encourages our natural movement toward creativity, spontaneity, and growth. Sometimes "thinking" or "talking" about problems is not enough, and a deeper level of experience and creativity is needed to get to the heart of a difficult situation. Alongside talk therapy, I help people connect to their inner resources by bringing attention to how their bodies and emotions mix with their beliefs and thoughts. We’ll uncover the patterns, habits, beliefs, and blocks contributing to stress and interfering with your satisfaction. By using the creative process with an emphasis on the here and now, you can find a supportive environment to heal within yourself. Clients often find that the creative and experiential process gets to the essence of what's happening and promotes self-awareness, esteem, and insight. Creative Now Therapy is a name inspired by the power of the present moment and how important this mode and way of being is in life and in therapy. It is a reminder me to always return to this place as a way to heal, be, and explore.

• New York, Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, 001500

I have 16+ years of experience working in the therapy field. Before forming my Private Practice, Creative Now Therapy, in 2013, I provided therapy in a variety of settings, including working with folks who have psychotic disorders, mood disorders, & other experiences of mental health crises. This also means treating the inherent traumas part of these diagnoses; neglect, sexual & physical abuse, drug use, marginalization, leaving your country of origin, & more. For years I facilitated inpatient psychiatric groups for adults who have schizophrenia/identify as voice-hearers. This has informed my deep appreciation for the array of human experiences, no matter how alternative they may seem. Before that, I supported Spanish-speaking families in navigating New York City social services and provided creative arts therapy to families & children. I am deeply grateful for how this has enhanced my understanding of the systems we are impacted by in the United States. • Creative Now Therapy, Telehealth Private Practice, New York. 2013 - Present. - Creator, Clinical Supervisor, and Psychotherapist - Psychotherapy with adults, LGTBQIA2SP+ and Latinx Focus - Clinical Supervision for therapists at the practice. • Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy Clinic, NY, NY. 2013-2016. - Psychotherapist, outpatient setting, individual sessions with adults. • Kings County Hospital Center, Health Plus Hospitals, East Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY. 2012 - 2019. - Group psychotherapist, inpatient setting, group therapy with adults and adolescents. • New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center, East New York, Brooklyn, NY. 2011 - 2012. - Psychotherapist, outpatient setting, individual sessions with children, adolescents, adults, and families. • HeartShare Human Services, Coney Island, NY. 2010 - 2012. - Case Planner, Family Art Therapist, and Child & Adolescent Art Therapist for Spanish-speaking families at risk of foster care placement. - Group Facilitator supporting Parents in the Parenting Journey Group Model. • SVA Counseling Team, Creative Arts Therapy Department, NY, NY. 2009-2010. - Individual Creative Arts Therapy sessions for undergraduate students at SVA. • St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, The Child and Family Institute, NY, NY. 2009 - 2010. - Individual Creative Arts Therapy sessions for Children (4 - 12 yrs) and Family Creative Arts Therapy sessions. • Interfaith Hospital Continuing Day Treatment Center, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY. 2008 - 2009. - Group Co-Leader and individual Creative Arts Therapy, partial hospitalization setting, sessions for Adults with Major Mental Health Experiences.