Diego Garcia Montes de Oca
Social Worker
- Accepting New Clients
- In-person & Virtual Sessions
WORKS WITH
SCHEDULE
- Thursday Evenings, Saturday Mornings, Monday Evenings
SESSIONS AVAILABLE IN
- English and Spanish
AREAS OF FOCUS
People have been trying to live for thousands of years, many of our challenges are as old as we are: Who am I? Where am I going? I can’t stand feeling this way. Emotional health is directly related to how healthy our relationships are to others. I work with individuals who are struggling to feel connected to others and to themselves. People endure many things, but therapy is a place where you can gain insight towards becoming a different version of yourself. Children, teens and adults are welcome.
As a third culture individual, I can offer a unique space where your multiple cultural layers can be explored and held. As a son of immigrant parents I am acutely aware of how much is expected of oneself and how little there is to have for yourself until you reach your later years. I have experience treating both parents who are immigrants and their first generation children.
We are a combination of our past and a version of ourselves that we wish to be. Your problem will be unique for you and it will take both of our efforts to create a treatment plan. In our first sessions I will review what issues have brought you in and how you have tried to deal with these issues in the past. Therapists bring in inalienable aspects of themselves into the therapy room: I will accept you and hold curiosity and consensus as our compass for treatment.
You are the expert in your life and my job is to hold the mirror and explore what can be different. Successful therapy is directly dependent on a solid relationship between therapist and client. You wish to change and together we can co-create it.
I am an ongoing fellow of the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis and my core training is in relational psychotherapy. When appropriate, I tailor ACT or DBT for clients.
THERAPY MODALITIES
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT)
EDUCATION & TRAININGS
- Masters in Social Work- Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Direct Practice
A Few Things You Might Be Wondering
Who do you love working with and why?
I like working with people who are not afraid to try to do something new, people of all identities. Change is the core theme of therapy and I see how people who can withstand discomfort are the ones that achieve their goals.
How would you describe your clinical style and preferred modalities?
My clinical style is patient, empathetic, curious and objective. I value collaboration the most, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. I value the relational psychodynamic point of view because it places both the client and therapist as important parts of the equation. The key mantra of relational therapy is collaboration. Regulation, exploration and rapport building would be the broad strokes of what the work might look like across all clients.
What sets you apart as a clinician?
I will listen carefully and ask for permission for interpretation. I take the theories and foundational texts of psychodynamic theory seriously and see how effective they are in the clinical dialogue.