Welcome, I’m Raquel—
I’m grateful you’re here
For 25 years, I’ve worked in behavioral health systems, for the past 15 years as a therapist, clinical supervisor, and services manager. Now I'm in private practice and facilitate training to county behavioral health systems, bringing an Indigenous lens to traditional mental health treatment to deliver culturally sensitive, trauma-informed care to Indigenous communities.
My work bridges evidence-based practice with decolonized, culturally rooted approaches. The training I facilitate, is transformative; integrating cultural wisdom with clinical practice creating a sacred space for deep reflection. I come from a lineage of medicine women and healers whose gifts were nearly erased through colonization and boarding schools. Today, I honor my Ancestors through decolonized healing circles, training, and clinical work that validates the wisdom Indigenous communities have always carried. This has been a path that has called to me since childhood, integrating Ancestral wisdom with psychotherapy to foster individual and collective healing.
Speaking & Trainings
Raquel offers engaging keynotes, workshops, and trainings that bring Indigenous wisdom into your therapeutic practice and community spaces.
Topics
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Equip your team to deliver more effective services by integrating indigenous healing perspectives that significantly improve client engagement, retention, and outcomes across systems of care.
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Enhance your team's cultural knowledge of working with Indigenous communities. In this training, teams will gain understanding of historical oppression, impact of history on mental health/ACES, and Indigenous beliefs as well as healing practices that can be used to strengthen client outcomes.
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Implement practical approaches to address intergenerational trauma that creates lasting positive change for families, increases community collaboration, and establish your organization as a trusted partner in collective healing.
Presented & Facilitated at Leading Institutions
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4/2025: Santa Clara Behavioral Health. Cultural Sensitivity: Native American Survivance, Resilience, and Healing. In-Person. Attendance: TBD.
6/2024: Santa Clara Behavioral Health. Cultural Sensitivity: Working with Indigenous Children, Families, and Community to Foster Survivance and Resilience. Virtual. Audience: 51.
3/2022: Monterey County Behavioral Health. Law and Ethics in Clinical Supervision Panelist for Linda Garrett, J.D. Virtual: Audience: 35
1/2018-12/2019: Monterey County Behavioral Health. Motivational Interviewing Workshops for Adult System of Care Staff (created curriculum, materials in collaboration with Dr. Kristin Dempsy EdD). Virtual: Audience: 10-20.
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4/2022: CMHACY (California Mental Health for Adolescents, Children, and Youth) Conference
9/2021: California Dept of Education and Wellness Together. Annual Student Mental Wellness Conference. Indigenous Inequity in Systems and Building the Bridge to Resilience for students and families. Virtual: Audience Size: 55
6/10/2021: California Institute of Behavioral Health Sciences (CIBHS) Health Equity Summit. Other speakers include Courina Gould and Stacey Abrams. Presentation: Indigenous Inequity in Systems and Building the Bridge to Resilience.Virtual: Audience size: 105
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11/2023: CSUMB. MSW Program- Behavioral Health Workforce Education Trainings. Working with Indigenous Individuals, Children, and Families in Behavioral Health Systems. Virtual. Audience: 25.
8/2021: JFK University. Intergenerational Trauma Workshop for Clinical Psychology PhD Program. Clinical Practice to address Intergenerational Trauma with Indigenous Children, Families, and Community.