MONICA

GAVILANES, LCSW

(she/her)

Liberation-Centered Therapist & Facilitator 

Embody who you know yourself to be beyond the survival shape you had to take on.

This work was born out of a realization, radical honesty, and a homecoming.

After working many years within social service systems, in which we aim to help folks “manage” their stressors or hard emotions, it became clear to me that we cannot stress manage our way out of historical pain.

I realized that so much of what my clients have gotten to know as anger, anxiety, or low self-worth, was actually rooted in complex grief passed down from many generations.

I realized that many people in our communities are suffering from a sort of cultural amnesia.

Teachings from our ancestral roots, such as interconnection and whole-body care have been systematically taken from us and replaced with oppressive white supremacist and capitalistic standards such as superficial care and auto-pilot living.

What was needed were safe spaces in which we could be radically honest about what has impacted us, how we perpetuate harm to ourselves and others, and the opportunity for a homecoming.

By homecoming, I am referring to meeting and nurturing a relationship with all parts of you that have been impacted by systemic and personal harm. By homecoming, I mean learning to meet yourself with radical self-honesty so you can implement real change. By homecoming, I mean centering the knowledge of our ancestors before colonial violence.

A homecoming in which the body, mind, and spirit reunite so you are no longer trying to think positively but groundedness is an embodied experience you walk with and can return to if taken off course.

All these concepts inform the values behind this work and are living breathing things. Which means they may evolve, as I do.

My Why

Give yourself the care you always needed and deserve.

I am a proud NY native, raised in Jamaica, Queens. A daughter to a sensitive and strong Dominican mother & rebel without a cause Ecuadorian father. My identity as a first generation immigrant has shaped my lens of the world, and continues to fuel my passion for social justice, activism and the healing of the Black/Indigenous communities.

I’m a proud alum of both CUNY and SUNY school systems, and have over ten years experience in social work and therapeutic settings. Throughout my career, I have always remained anchored in the knowing that while we continue to exist in an oppressive society our relationships with ourselves and our world will be a fragmented experience…and the goal has always been to support those returning back to wholeness.

Working with me looks like laughs, joy, learning, collaboration, and having a partner to feel the heavy things through with. I take on the role of parent, sister, or friend in order to help you re-experience safety in connection. This is the safety that will allow you to feel better about getting close to the tough stuff we need to meet and release. You’ll start to notice that after time, you will embody this sense of safety and know you’re capable even without me. This is the goal! To be your guide as you come back home to yourself and your inner guide.

For my folks that love them a google search, the healing modalities in my toolbox include: EMDR, Somatic experiencing, Liberation Psychology, Narrative Therapy, and Internal Family Systems. Additionally, I incorporate ancestral practices such as alter work, plant medicine and meditation into my work for those interested.

WHO I AM & HOW I WORK

“Practice without thought is blind; thought without practice is empty.”

— Kwame Nkrumah

What I Offer

    • $215 for weekly 50-minute teletherapy sessions for NYS* residents only.

    • I also offer two slots at a sliding scale rate of $150 per session (if available*) and two slots specifically for full-time community organizers/teaching artists for $80 per session (if available*.)

    • I enjoy working with creatives, fellow healers, those who grew up as the caretaker of the family, 1st gens, and politically active or interested folks.

    • I offer community groups/workshops for a variety of contexts.

    • Some topics include storytelling as a healing tool, growing the body/mind connection, & discerning between trauma reflexes and intuition.

    • I also offer consulting for publications, books, and tv/films on the topics of mental health, culturally conscious therapy, trauma, CPTSD, anti-racism, and the bicultural Latinx experience.

    • These conversations can look like podcasts, panels, documentaries, non-scripted shows, IG Lives, or workshops.

    • I’m your girl if you are looking for an officiant for your special day that understands the nature of a healthy relationship, can offer solid advice on the next chapter of your relationship, and is spiritually anchored.

FAQs

  • Identifying as a liberation-centered therapist or healer is significant to me because it means that all my work, both personal and communal, is grounded in the lived experiences of oppressed people and communities. It means when working with you I am always holding the reality that our mental and emotional well-being is impacted by historical, socioeconomic, and political contexts. Liberation-centered healing also de-centers western medical and psychological approaches as the only standard for healing, as it creates space for and honors pre-colonial and ancestral modes of healing. This includes breath and bodywork, storytelling, and altar work. Liberation-centered healing places emphasis on how present-day issues known as depression or anxiety are not character defects, but a response to our environment and intergenerational traumas. Lastly, this lens holds community as a pillar, as our personal healing is a necessary ingredient to the healing of our community and family line.

  • Insurance companies require we submit an official and documented diagnosis for each client after one session. As a practitioner who understands that most of what we have come to know as common mental health issues, such as anxiety, are actually chronic physical states often rooted in a history of complex trauma, collaborating with insurance company monitoring and labeling goes against my value system of care. Additionally, insurance companies also determine the length of care and how much therapists are paid for their work. I believe both you and I should have agency over those decisions. In an effort to support my clients who want to use their insurance benefits, I offer a monthly superbill which you can submit to your insurance company in an effort to obtain a personal out-of-network reimbursement.

  • In working with me, we are both entering a new and unique relationship. So as in any relationship we need time and consistency in order to get to know one another, share space, and build rapport and trust. Additionally, we will be working through some issues that have been with you for some time, so slow and steady is the name of the game. That being said, I work with all my clients on a weekly basis for at least 8 months. After that, you may decide you want to decrease to bi-weekly and at that point, we can discuss this in terms of where you are in your journey and make space for both our perspectives around this possible next step. Once someone has been working on their identified areas of pain or challenge and it is evident they have embodied self-trust and compassion, our work together may look like monthly check-ins.

  • This is a very personal choice that I can’t necessarily offer a direct answer to. What I can offer are reminders. The reminder that many of the challenges that brought you into therapy are rooted in old traumas you have yet to learn or had the opportunity to work through. So, it does take time to create enough safety within your body, mind, and spirit where you are able to honestly be with your pain for the purpose of reharmonizing your inner world. That being said, your reason for wanting this healing and supportive space may evolve as you do and we can always discuss what you’d like this relationship to be for if that happens. Remember, our work together is always voluntary, and as a person in your support circle, I will always offer you honest feedback throughout.

  • I don’t consider myself a generalist, because I prefer to understand a few challenges intimately and deeply, rather than many superficially. Therefore, there are a few areas I know deeply and intimately. Those include first gen guilt/ sense of indebtedness, what people label as “people pleasing” (but I reframe as self-betrayal and anxiety rooted in fear of being alone of abandonment), identity issues within the latinx experience, struggles with showing up as your full self in relationships, poor boundaries, and the grief rooted in complex trauma. I also personally enjoy working with creatives, fellow healers, the “mom” friend, and politically active or interested people.

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