A B O U T
Get to Know Me
and My Philosophy
A B O U T M E
Cristal Alvarado, LMFT 122532, RPT™, CATP & Bilingual Birth to Five Therapist
I studied at UC Santa Cruz where I received my B.A. in Psychology as well as Santa Clara University, where I received an M.A. in Counseling Psychology and pursued the Corrections Emphasis to better serve at-risk populations. I am also a Registered Play Therapist™ and believe in the power of play in therapy when working with children and families. I am also a certified Child and Adolescent Trauma Professional.
As a clinician, I believe that everyone should have an equal right and opportunity to quality care. As a bilingual Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Registered Play Therapist I aim to work with under-served populations, I work with individuals of all ages as well as families of various backgrounds. One of the payment options I can provide is sliding-scale. I provide services in both English and Spanish.
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I provide short term and long term care for families and individuals of all ages and backgrounds. I specialize in doing family therapy and dyadic-therapy in conjunction with working with 0-5 year olds. I help support individuals and families with a variety of issues, such as: anxiety, depression, communication issues, adjustment, and relationship issues.
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As a trainer, I provide experiential workshops to help create a hands-on learning experience. I have been invited to provide small, intimate trainings to help facilitate greater discussion in graduate school settings. I have also been invited by non-profit organizations to provide bigger, hands-on trainings in person and online. The trainings have focused on providing therapy with 0-5, using culturally inclusive games in play therapy, and teaching the basics of play therapy.
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My trainings meet the qualifications for continuing education credit, for LMFTs, LCSW's, LPCC's, and LEP's as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. I am approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #10003384) to sponsor continuing education for LMFT's, LCSW;s, LPCC;s, and LEP's. I maintain responsibility for the program and all its content.
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Please reach out to me for a free consultation about providing trainings to your organization or school.
M Y A P P R O A C H
Families, Culture, and Play
These 3 beliefs are the most important part of my therapeutic work - both in providing trainings and working with clients and other clinicians: I believe that a healing environment begins in the home, in collaboration with others, and through the power of play. I believe when all these 3 factors come together, it creates a new and healing experience.
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In my trainings, I highlight how these 3 factors come together to create healing experiences for clients through case studies and experiential activities. My experience has shown me that others learn best when they are able to have hands-on experiences and discussions about the therapeutic work.
