ASSOCIATE MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPIST
Cecilie Garcia, AMFT
What's happening underneath the struggle matters.
I provide compassionate, relational therapy for children, teens, adults, and couples, with particular attention to trauma, anxiety, stress, relationships, parenting, and family dynamics.
Children • Teens • Adults • Couples • Parents
Looking Beyond the Symptoms
Sometimes the thing you can see isn't the whole story.
Anxiety. Conflict. Shutting down. Big emotions. Relationship pain. Stress.
A child whose behavior suddenly feels impossible to understand.
These experiences matter- but I'm also interested in understanding what may be happening underneath them.
I work from a trauma-informed, relational perspective, which means we'll pay attention not only to symptoms, but also to the relationships, experiences, patterns, and environments that have shaped how you feel and respond today.
The goal isn't to decide what's “wrong” with you.
It's to understand what makes sense about your experience- and what might help things begin to feel different.
Children & Teens
Young people don't always communicate distress by sitting down and explaining exactly what they're feeling.
Wouldn't parenting be significantly easier if they did?
Sometimes distress appears as anxiety. Avoidance. Anger. Withdrawal. Perfectionism. Conflict. Behavior that seems to come out of nowhere.
My work with children and teens is developmentally attuned, meaning therapy is shaped around the young person in front of me rather than expecting them to process emotions like a miniature adult.
I want young people to experience therapy as somewhere they can feel understood, safe, and increasingly able to make sense of what's happening inside them.
Parents & Families
When a child is struggling, parents often need support too.
You may be wondering how much to push, when to step back, whether a behavior needs a boundary or connection- or whether you're handling any of this correctly.
Parent support gives us room to understand your child's needs alongside the larger family system.
Depending on what is happening, our work may involve parenting support, individual therapy, couples work, or attention to patterns affecting the family as a whole.
We aren't looking for someone to blame.
We're looking for what the family needs to move differently together.
Trauma-Informed & Equine-Assisted Work
Trauma-informed care means paying attention to your history, relationships, nervous system, strengths, boundaries, and sense of safety as we work together.
I also offer Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy, providing an experiential option for appropriate clients who may benefit from exploring emotions, communication, trust, boundaries, and relationships alongside horses.
Sometimes experiencing something gives us information that would be difficult to reach through conversation alone.
Outside of Therapy
Outside of therapy, Cecilie is a mom to an amazing, rambunctious little boy who keeps life fun and never boring.
She spends much of her free time around horses, teaching lessons, and staying involved in the equestrian community. She loves being outdoors, spending time with family and friends, and can often be found at a barrel race. Finding balance between her career, family, horses, and the things that bring her joy is an important part of her life.
THERAPY ACROSS CALIFORNIA
Online & In-Person Therapy Across California
Our therapists provide online therapy throughout California, making it possible to access relational, individualized support from wherever you call home.
In-person, nature-based and experiential therapy services are also available in select Northern and Central California communities.
Therapy in Salinas
Explore therapy for adults, couples, children, teens and families in Salinas, California, including in-person services.
Connections Boarding Stables 22400 Indian Springs Rd
Salinas, CA 93908
Therapy in Auburn
Explore therapy services for individuals, couples and families in Auburn and the surrounding Northern California communities.
Therapy in Truckee
Find therapy in Truckee for relationships, anxiety, trauma, stress, life transitions and other challenges, with virtual and select experiential options.
Could We Be a Good Fit?
I work with children, teens, adults, couples, parents, and families navigating concerns including:
Anxiety • Trauma • Stress • Relationships • Parenting • Family Dynamics • Life Transitions
I believe change happens within compassionate relationships.
You don't need to have the perfect explanation for what is happening before you begin.