Veronica Navarrete

LCSW

I believe that the most important traits for therapists are compassionate, have excellent listening skills and the ability to verbally communicate. I have compassion so that I can connect with my clients, excellent listening skills so that my clients feel valued and the ability to verbally communicate with my clients to give them advice and help them articulate their feelings.

I have always wanted a job where I was of service to others, but I didn't know how to channel that into a career until I took an introduction to social work course in college. We learned a lot about mental illness, what causes it and different ways to treat it, which inspired me to pursue a degree in clinical social work. I loved the idea of helping others overcome mental illness and helping them achieve their life goals.

My approach is client centered at all times. I like to first develop a strong therapeutic rapport with the individual so that they feel safe and comfortable to share their story with me and share their thoughts and feelings. Then, I write down a few points from my notes to discuss in our next session. During the session itself, I try to refrain from writing too much. Instead, I listen to my clients and talk them through an issue. This is when I bring up the points from the previous session and ask whether they feel they have improved since then to assess progress.