Iria Sebastiao, LMFT

Professional Bio

Hello, my name is Iria Sebastiao and I’ve been a clinical therapist for more than ten years. Most of the people I see are working through anxiety, sadness, grief, or a life change that’s knocked things off balance. Life transitions are where I do a lot of my work, along with difficulties at work or school, strain between parents and children, trauma and sexual abuse, cross-cultural relationships, and the relational and spiritual questions that tend to come up underneath all of it. I work in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and I know how much it can matter to talk about the hardest parts of your life in the language you actually think in.

What brought me to this work in the first place was wanting to help people feel better about themselves and their lives, even when circumstances aren’t cooperating. I think everyone comes with a particular mix of strengths and struggles that can be put to use in building a better relationship with life. Something I’ve noticed over the years is that when we feel good about ourselves, we naturally want to do right by the people around us. When we feel alone or like we’re failing, we tend to either hurt others or pull away entirely. If that’s where you are, it isn’t a character flaw, it’s a signal that you need help finding your way back to connection and to recognizing what’s good in you.

That’s where I come in. In our sessions I’ll give you a space where you can be yourself, ask questions, and try out new ideas without worrying about how they’ll land. You can tell me what’s actually going on, and we’ll work out together how to make it better. A lot of that is helping you rediscover strengths you already have and figuring out how to use them on what you’re up against. It’s a journey we take together, and the aim is for you to come out of it feeling steadier, stronger, and more connected to the people and world around you.

Outside of work I’m usually outdoors, traveling, or learning something new, and I spend as much time as I can with the people I love. I read a lot of non-fiction, and every so often I do Improv Theatre, which turns out to be a surprisingly fun mindfulness practice.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Iria Sebastiao, LMFT