Dr. Carmen Plasencia

Finding a therapist who truly understands your unique experiences can feel daunting, especially if you’re tired of explaining the complex intersections of your identity, neurodivergence, past trauma, relationships, or mental health challenges. You don’t have to navigate these challenges alone or feel like you have to start from scratch.

As a bilingual clinical psychologist, I provide individual and couples therapy, as well as comprehensive psychological testing. I tailor my approach to each client, recognizing that therapy is never one-size-fits-all. Whether I’m working with an individual or a couple, I strive to create a space where clients feel genuinely understood, supported, and comfortable being themselves.

My approach is culturally responsive, trauma-informed, collaborative, and evidence-based. I bring authenticity, warmth, humor, compassion, and gentle challenge into sessions, helping clients better understand themselves and their relationships while creating meaningful, lasting change. I especially enjoy working with clients who are open to self-exploration, willing to move through some discomfort in the service of growth, and ready to actively engage in the therapeutic process.

Experience

Dr. Plasencia is a licensed clinical psychologist who earned her PsyD from the APA-accredited California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. She has extensive training and experience providing therapy and comprehensive psychological assessments to children, teens, adults, and couples across private practice, community mental health, nonprofit, school, and crisis settings.

She has a particular passion for working with neurodivergent individuals, trauma survivors, multicultural populations, parents, and couples. In her work with couples, Dr. Plasencia incorporates principles and interventions from the Gottman Method to help partners strengthen communication, deepen connection, navigate conflict, and better understand one another.

Dr. Plasencia is a native English and Spanish speaker and is able to provide therapy in both languages.

Client Focus

Therapy: Teens (12-17), Adults (18 and up), and Couples.

Psychological Testing: Older Children (9-11), Teens (12-17), and Adults (18 and up).

Types of Clinical Services

Therapy: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Written Exposure Therapy (WET), and Gottman Method-informed couples therapy.

Psychological Testing: Comprehensive psychological testing for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Specific Learning Disorder (SLD), Intellectual Disability (ID), trauma disorders, and mood disorders.

Concerns I Treat

Therapy: OCD and related disorders, anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD, neurodivergence, multicultural identity development, parenting concerns, relationship challenges, communication difficulties, and couples concerns.

Psychological Testing: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Specific Learning Disorder (SLD), Intellectual Disability (ID), trauma disorders, and mood disorders.

More Than Just My Work

Outside of work, I love trying new restaurants and foods, traveling, getting lost in a good murder mystery or fantasy audiobook, and spending time with my partner and our beagle.