Our Staff | Find Your Balance Center for Growth and Change

Our Team

Each therapist at Find Your Balance, Center for Growth & Change is hand picked for their special skills, expertise, education and training. We only hire the absolute best in the field and each of our therapists participate in ongoing education to stay current with the latest and most effective evidenced - based practices.

Crystal Guzman

LMFT

I enjoy working with adults who struggle with mood disorders, depression, anxiety, PTSD and trauma.

Victoria Serratos

LCSW

I am trilingual In American Sign Language and Spanish and work with teens, young adults and seniors.

"Helping people find a deeper truth and come back to their center by removing all of the blankety-blank stuff. "

Humanness first and then the rest. I am an affirmative Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who believes that the use of spirituality in practice can help guide people through a variety of life experiences. My extensive training in working with children, adolescents, and adults has allowed me the expertise in the following areas: complex trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, parenting, life transition, life path, self-exploration/individuation, and creating long lasting healthy attachments.

Drawing on core principles of Mindfulness, Internal family systems, cognitive behavioral therapy, and play therapy I believe that creative and humanistic approaches can get you where you want to be. My focus is to help you become the expert in your life and create long lasting change.

My education includes a Bachelor of Science in Counseling Psychology from California Lutheran University, 2007. I later went on to graduate in 2012 from Pacifica Graduate Institute with a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology.

Trainings & Specialties:

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
Internal Family Systems
Play therapy for children
Grief, complex trauma, PTSD
Depression, anxiety
Parenting
I can work with infants, young children, adolescents, parents and adults.

CBT certified through the Academy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, 2017

Triple P Positive Parenting Stepping Stones, 2015

CORs- 2015

Shannon Squillante

LMFT

I believe that creative and humanistic approaches can get you where you want to be.

I am a native Spanish and English speaker and have years of experience helping people. I have an AA degree in Communication & Literature, Natural Sciences and Business Administration. I am currently pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at California State University Northridge.

I am happy to assist you with coordinating care with our therapists and scheduling sessions to fit your needs. I’m here to answer any questions for you related to paperwork, billing, fees, scheduling and intake.

I believe mental health is essential for balancing life and I am looking forward to helping you achieve your goals.

Karen Martinez

Office Manager

I believe mental health is essential for balancing life and I am looking forward to helping you achieve your goals.

Life is challenging... but you don’t have to handle it alone. You can thrive and I’m here to help.

I graduated from Pepperdine University with a M.A. in Clinical Psychology with Emphasis on Marriage Family Therapy and have been passionately helping others in the Mental Health Field for over a decade. As a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist, I work with individuals, couples and families. I utilize empathetic listening and compassion to provide a safe environment where we can identify goals together. I also believe in being collaborative and at times directive, so that we can uncover negative behaviors, patterns, or roadblocks and work towards replacing these with healthy thoughts, feelings and behaviors for symptom relief, growth and ultimately generalize to lasting change.

Areas of Focus:
*Anxiety/Stress Management
*Depression/Trauma
*Coping Skills/Relationship Issues
*Self Esteem/Empowerment
*Life Transition/Purpose/Spirituality
*Parenting/Behavioral Parent Training
*Special Needs

I look forward to meeting you and being a part of your healing journey! May you strive and thrive!

CJ Hartshorn

Clinical Supervisor, LMFT

I utilize empathetic listening and compassion to provide a safe environment where we can identify goals together.

I specialize in cultivating healthy relationships to the self and others. My approach is client centered, collaborative, non-judgmental, strength based, and tailored, in order to offer therapy that meets your specific needs. My clients are typically teens (14-19 y/o), and adults. My therapeutic approaches are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Psychodynamic. My therapeutic lens has a foundation rooted in understanding that lasting change and growth in therapy begins with a trusting and supportive therapeutic alliance between client and therapist. I believe that in order to thrive in our lives it is helpful to be aware of the conscious and unconscious mind. In a safe and supportive setting, I aim to make clients aware of patterns of thought and behavior that can generally be considered maladaptive in nature. It is through heightened awareness that we can make lasting changes in our thoughts, feelings, and behavior, in order to live fulfilling and satisfying lives.

Adrian M. Alvarez

AMFT

I enjoy working with teens ages 14 to 19 years old and adults.

Evelyn is a bilingual (English/Spanish) therapist who enjoys working with children, teens and adults. She is a big advocate for her clients and strongly feels that everyone has a right to feel loved, safe, and heard.

Her experience has allowed her the opportunity to work with individuals struggling with PTSD, anxiety, depression, mood disorders and trauma,. She primarily uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to assist clients in understanding how their thoughts can affect their behaviors and utilizing coping skills to assist with changing thought patterns.

Evelyn has worked with families of many different cultures and enjoys assisting individuals with understanding how family values and norms can affect you as an adult. She spent a significant amount of her childhood in Guatemala, which allowed her the opportunity to learn about the Latino Culture. This experience also provided her with a more significant understanding of the challenges that one faces when adapting to a new culture, environment and/or surrounding. She strongly feels that culture plays a big part in a person’s life and can be an important factor in attaining a healthy life balance.

Training & Specialities:

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
TF-CBT (Trauma Focused- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
Culturally Sensitive
Substance Abuse
Eating Disorders
Seeking Safety Treatment (evidence-based treatment that treats co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and substance abuse)
Trauma Informed Care
Certified Domestic Violence Counselor

Evelyn Chamorro

AMFT

I am a culturally sensitive therapist who specializes in using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for eating disorders, substance abuse, anxiety, depression and co-occurring disorders

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an Associate Professional Clinical counselor. I received my master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University. I have worked with a variety of backgrounds and cultures in the mental health field for the last 5 years. My approach in therapy is to utilize healthy coping skills and mindfulness to increase personal growth and self-awareness in a safe and healing space. I strongly believe that we need to better ourselves, understand others, and learn to communicate in all types of relationships. We all have personal life challenges and the need to feel heard, Therefore, I feel honored to walk with you on your journey to self-discovery, bettering yourself, and working through life obstacles.

Lourdes Loyola

LMFT

I use healthy coping skills and mindfulness to increase personal growth and self-awareness.

I am a bilingual (Spanish speaking) Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. I received my master’s degree from Hope International University. I have 10 years of experience and specialize in working with toddlers, children, adolescents and adults who struggle with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) or have been exposed to trauma and who come from a variety backgrounds and cultures. When I work with children and their parents, I utilize Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) as a treatment for trauma-exposed children. The central goal of CPP is to strengthen and support the child-caregiver relationship and the child’s mental health.

I enjoy working with parents who need a little extra support. I utilize positive parenting to increase confidence in parents so that they can implement strategies that will help build good relationships with their children. Using these strategies can lead to an environment that is safe, loving and predictable for your child.

I can assist those seeking help for stress, grief and loss, anxiety, social skills, depression and anger management.

Training & Specialties:

Christian counseling, grief, ADHD, anger management, parenting, trauma, childhood trauma, anxiety, depression, PTSD, anger management, behavioral issues.

Certified in Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP). Parent and child trauma work for 0 to 5 years old

Certified in Depression Treatment Quality Improvement Intervention (DTQI). Specialty for adolescents with depression

Certified in Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). Court mandated letter provided & services DCFS approved

Incredible Years (IY) Dina. 3 to 7 years old.

Specializing in social skills for children using puppets and play therapy.

Julia Garcia-Ixcol

LMFT

I am a bilingual therapist who enjoys working with parents who need a little extra support.

I am an LGBTQUIA2+ affirmative therapist who works with teens and young adults (Ages 13-21) and adults. I work from a combined humanistic, existential and person-centered lens and collaborate with you to create a treatment plan that is best tailored to your needs. I utilize a variety of evidence based modalities. I received my Masters of Social Work from USC and received my Bachelors in Human Services with a specialization in Mental Health at CSUF. For the past 7 years I have worked with people who struggle with anxiety, bipolar disorder, complex trauma, depression and PTSD.

I look forward to meeting with you soon and working together as a team to help you overcome challenges and helping you achieve your goals.

Areas of Focus include:

*Anxiety/Stress Management
*Depression/Trauma/Complex Trauma
*Coping Skills/Relationship Issues
*Self Esteem/Empowerment
*LGBTQUIA2+
*Mood Disorders (Bipolar Disorder, etc.)

Training and Specialties:
* CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
* TF-CBT (Trauma Focused CBT)
* DBT (Dialectical behavioral therapy)
* IPSRT (Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy)
* ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
* Art Therapy
* IPT (Interpersonal Therapy)
* MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy)

Tenesha Garcia

ASW

I am an LGBTQUIA2+ affirmative therapist who works with teens and young adults (Ages 13-21) and adults.

Our Team

Crystal Guzman

Victoria Serratos

Shannon Squillante

Karen Martinez

CJ Hartshorn

Adrian M. Alvarez

Evelyn Chamorro

Lourdes Loyola

Julia Garcia-Ixcol

Tenesha Garcia

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