Ana joined the social work profession as a second career, having earned her Masters in Social Work in 2021. She went on to complete a 12-month post-graduate fellowship in clinical social work at The Menninger Clinic, where she received intensive psychodynamic training in individual, group, couples and family psychotherapy while serving diagnostically-complex patients and their families in the clinic’s Program for Professionals.
As a bilingual therapist, Ana enjoys working with young adults and adults who have experienced trauma and/or struggle(s) with mood, anxiety, substance use or personality disorders that impact their daily functioning and/or relationships. She views therapy as a collaborative space where her clients can learn about themselves, grieve losses, find healing, improve relational skills and discover meaningful purpose. While her approach is primarily psychodynamic, Ana also incorporates attachment theory, dialectical and cognitive behavioral therapy (DBT and CBT) skills, mentalizing and Family System theory, depending on the unique needs of her clients.
Before becoming a social worker, Ana had a successful career in finance. After earning her bachelor’s in economics, Ana worked for Goldman Sachs in Mexico City and New York. Then, following her desire to help others, she worked as CFO of Pro Mujer International, a New York-based international development organization that provides small loans and business-skills training to underserved women in Latin America. When Ana took some time off to raise her two boys, she volunteered with various charities in Houston serving low-income immigrant populations. Ana earned Child Advocates’ “Rookie of the Year” award for her work as a CASA volunteer serving families in the foster care system. Her own journey in therapy combined with her experience working with families is what led her to pursue a social work degree.
Ana is also a published author. In 2016, she self-published Breathing Life: la campaña de Nat, a memoir about a Mexican family’s campaign to raise $1 million for their daughter’s double lung transplant. She participates in writers’ workshops and has published three short stories through Literal Publishing.
In her free time, Ana enjoys watching different series with her family, as well as taking walks, writing, reading and cooking.
