Jose Gonzalez, LCSW

You want to be free from negative core beliefs

You want to experience high amounts of self-worth and value.

You want to feel confident setting boundaries in your life.

You want to communicate effectively with loved ones.

You want to live with grace for yourself and others. 

 

I want to partner with you to make these desires a reality in your life. 

 

It is nice to meet you. My name is José Gonzalez. I am a licensed clinical social worker who is passionate about building strong therapeutic alliances and using evidence-based, research-backed approaches to therapy. 

 

I highly value the client-therapist alliance as a central aspect of your healing journey. Wherever you are on your journey, I will meet you right there and travel alongside you. Acting as a guide, free of judgment and full of acceptance. I offer a safe space for you to fully express your whole and true self. This space is fertile ground for true change to sprout. 

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“Trauma happens in the context of relationships. Therefore, it can only be healed through the context of a relationship.” 

 

My belief in the importance of the therapeutic alliance stems from this quote and my work with youth at residential treatment and correctional facilities. Often, the youth’s moods and behaviors were altered significantly when they felt connected and cared for by the staff. These youth had been disenfranchised by many adults in their life. They were children who simply needed to feel heard, valued, and genuinely cared for. I took this perspective with me through my work with addiction counseling, youth corrections, family reintegration, and private practice. 

 

Many of my clients are extremely resistant to therapy when we first begin our work together, but over time this resistance fades and eventually diminishes due to my highly personalized and compassionate approach and the quality of our therapeutic relationship. 

 

Our therapeutic work together will start with a good understanding of your concerns and why you decided to seek mental health care. Based on those concerns, we will come up with 2-3 goals for our time together. Keeping in mind, that healing is not linear. It is a fully cyclical process. I find it is normal for clients to feel they have reached their original goals, and then a few months or years later they come back to see me wanting to work on totally different issues. 

 

Along with my collaborative approach, unconditional positive regard and evidence-based practices are at the core of my practice. I use an integrative approach including Motivational Interviewing, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness based practices such as meditation, and the healing powers of nature. I have used these methods to help clients process past traumatic events such as sexual assault, combat experiences, violent acts, betrayals, neglect, and traumatic childhoods. I aim to empower you to create effective and sustainable changes in your life that reflect your personal values. Tools I teach you will increase your ability to function and interact in the present, and build new neural pathways that lead to more adaptive and healthy functioning. We will identify and challenge faulty core beliefs and automatic negative thoughts that influence your behavior. Psychoeducation, tools for changing your behavior, and homework to practice these skills will all be integrated into our work.

 

When I am not working with clients, I enjoy the outdoors, traveling, fishing, and animals. I especially enjoy traveling with my son. It is our goal to see all the Wonders of the World. Last year we traveled to Mexico to see Chichen Itza. This year we will visit Brazil to see Christ the Redeemer. Originally from Cuba, I called Colorado home for many years before settling down in Alaska, where I currently live.