Alvaro Herrera, LPC Associate, NCC

Maybe you’ve spent years being the one who holds it together. You translate for your parents, send money home, keep your worries quiet, and show up at work like nothing is wrong. On the outside you look fine. On the inside you’re anxious, tired, or leaning on something to take the edge off, and you’re not sure who you’d even tell.

I’m Alvaro, a counselor at Just Mind in Austin. I work with adults who are carrying anxiety, low mood, trauma, relationship strain, and habits they want to break. I see clients in English, Spanish, and French, in person at our North and South Austin offices or online anywhere in Texas.

I know some of this from the inside. I studied psychology in Paris and practiced in Colombia before moving to the United States, where I had to start over and earn my counseling degree at Texas State. Along the way I’ve worked as a janitor, a nanny, a bank teller, and a tour guide, as well as a university psychology lecturer. I understand what it costs to rebuild a life in a new country, and how lonely it can feel to belong a little to two places and fully to neither.

That experience shapes my work. Questions about identity, family expectations, culture, and belonging come up often in therapy, especially for first-generation clients and people who moved here as adults. You don’t have to explain why your mother’s opinion still carries so much weight, or why “just set a boundary” doesn’t fit your family. We can talk about those things directly, in whatever language feels most natural to you.

Si prefieres hablar en español, podemos trabajar completamente en español. Muchas personas sienten que ciertas emociones solo se pueden expresar bien en su idioma de origen, y eso está bien.

In sessions, I pair insight with practical skills. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and DBT skills help with day-to-day anxiety and mood. EMDR helps the body and mind process trauma that talking alone hasn’t touched. Motivational Interviewing is useful when part of you wants to change a habit and part of you doesn’t. Emotionally Focused Therapy and attachment theory guide how I look at relationships, including the ones you grew up with.

I’ve worked in recovery programs and with people struggling with addictive behaviors, so I’m comfortable wherever you are with alcohol, substances, or other patterns. There’s no requirement to have it all figured out before we start. A lot of people come in unsure whether therapy is even for them, sometimes because therapy wasn’t something their family talked about. That’s a reasonable place to begin.

I also work with children through play therapy, and I involve parents along the way. For families adjusting to a new country, this can help kids express what they can’t yet put into words and help parents feel less alone in figuring it out.

My first experience with a therapist was when I was about eight years old. I remember thinking that person was wise, and I wanted to be able to help people the way they helped me. Later, sitting in the client’s chair as an adult, I learned how much it takes to walk in the door and how much it matters to feel understood once you do. I try to bring that respect to every session.

I’m a bit of a psychology nerd, and I love learning what shapes people. Outside of work I spend time with family and friends, enjoy art and nature, and believe in a good nap after a good lunch.

If something here sounds familiar, reach out. Just Mind offers a free 15-minute phone consultation so you can see whether we’re a good fit before you commit. A real person on our client care team will help you get scheduled.

Alvaro Herrera is an LPC Associate and National Certified Counselor, supervised by Diana Garza-Louis, LPC-S, RPT-S.

Alvaro Herrera, LPC Associate, NCC