Consuela Perez-Jefferis, LCSW

Consuela identifies as Chicana and uses she/her pronouns.  She has a license in clinical social work (LCSW). She has been providing direct mental health support services in a variety of ways over the last 10 years. Prior to providing mental health services she spent several years in the field of education teaching academic success and leadership skills and providing advising and career counseling.

She is energized by working with people, and values the unique qualities, goals, and challenges each person carries. Using a collaborative approach, she offers a down-to-earth, direct, and kind communication style. Consuela integrates and adapts Cognitive Behavioral and Acceptance & Commitment therapy strategies that empower you to create your own wellness interventions. Including how to notice and adapt thoughts, feelings, and behavior patterns that may be holding you back from living the life you want. Since she believes all emotions, even distressing ones, are part of rich and full human experience, she will encourage you to feel them fully when appropriate.

She is invested in learning people's stories, and the environmental and historical context that shape who they are today. Part of how she explores this is through learning about your identities and life experiences, family patterns and rules, cultures, and ancestral histories. She will strive to create space to honor and respect how they may be part of your unique life stress, pain, strengths, and resiliency. She strives to offer a safe trauma informed space where all parts of yourself are welcomed without judgment.  She is guided by values of justice and equity and strives to enact these values in her day-to-day relationships with others, particularly in identifying solutions that build empowerment and agency for those that have been marginalized and oppressed. Her desire to work with oppressed and marginalized communities stems from identifying personally (fat, aging, person of color with her own mind and body challenges) with many of their experiences, and a determination to use her positional power and privileges for healing.

Lastly, but equally important, she can be silly or playful (in the enjoyable way), believing that we can lose out on the small joys of life if we take our selves too seriously. She values  “being in community”--that is, doing something, no matter how small, to actively support connection, as humans innately desire connection to others, our planet, and the universe. Our family, biological or chosen are a constant reminder of the importance of connecting with and contributing to community. This has become even more true now as we survive this pandemic and a changing planet. We rise together through helping each other.