About Dr. Cristina Garcia
Hi! I’m a clinical psychologist committed to helping adults learn how to improve their sleep and their mental health.
In therapy, I target unhelpful behaviors, thoughts, and emotional patterns.
I believe that collaboration, acceptance, and small steps are essential for reaching your goals.
Therapy Approach
It’s important to me to offer evidence-based practices so that I’m confident my clients have a high chance of success in therapy. I usually use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a base with other interventions mixed in depending on my client’s strengths and goals.
In the therapy room, this all translates as an organized and flexible plan that can stretch across many sessions and serve us moment to moment.
Education
I completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park where my research and clinical work focused on schizophrenia and serious mental illness, especially in Veterans. After graduate school, I did my predoctoral clinical internship at the Southwest Consortium, where I received both generalist and specialist training, and did my postdoctoral fellowship in Systems Redesign and Psychosocial Rehabilitation at the New Mexico VA Health Care System.
Then, following a growing interest in the effects of mental health on sleep (and vice versa), I earned my Diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine (DBSM).
IN THE NEWS: Noteworthy Media Mentions
Well+Good
If You’re a Light Sleeper, Can You Train Your Body to Sleep Through Noise and Light?
Business Insider