Cynthia L Viera

I am a licensed professional counselor with my home in Upland, California. I am licensed in both California and Arizona and am currently doing remote counseling only. I have experience in addiction, trauma, anxiety, grief and loss, anger management and life transitions. I am multi-culturally sensitive and LGBTQIA+ affirming. I am a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) and a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor-CA (LAADC-CA). I was born in El Paso, Texas and both my parents are Mexican-American. I moved to California in 2021 after living in Arizona for 30 years. I am bilingual Spanish-English and can provide therapy services in Spanish. My graduate education includes a doctoral (Ph.D.) degree in Experimental Psychology from Arizona State University (1989) and a Master of Arts degree in Counseling (2014) from Ottawa University. Before I entered the counseling profession, I was residential faculty at Phoenix College teaching classes in Psychology, Sociology and Women's Studies for 25 years.

It is common for new clients to wonder what the counseling process is like. I would like to share with you what to expect from our relationship so that you are comfortable with what we will be doing. Mostly, you will be sharing your story with me and I will be listening. I may ask questions about how you are feeling or what you are thinking to help uncover the root causes and stuck emotions that are causing you distress. Sharing your story with a stranger is sometimes hard but sometimes easier than sharing it with someone with whom you have history. Often, during therapy you will recall unpleasant events and struggle with difficult issues. This may cause feelings of discomfort or distress. My role as your counselor is to become your ally on this therapeutic journey and to provide a safe space where you can talk and be yourself without fear of judgment. We will identify and emphasize those strengths that you have used to cope successfully with the challenges you have already faced. These strengths will help us build resilience and positive outcomes in our counseling work and will be the foundation of a hopeful and bright future for you when we complete our work. I promise to be honest with you and support you as you explore who you are and become accepting of yourself. I will work to earn your trust and help you feel comfortable talking to me about yourself. During this process, you will tell me what you would like to see as a result of counseling and how you would like to feel when we are finished. Together we will set goals about what we want to accomplish and how we will work to reach these goals.