Our Houston Therapists

Awards, Press, & Affiliations

What People Are Saying

Jennifer Lancaster, LCSW-S, PATP, RYT

Founder | Therapist

Texas License #64393

If you've spent years trying to understand yourself and something important still hasn't moved, we might be a good fit.

I work with complex, layered cases: trauma that stayed in the body long after the mind made sense of it, eating disorders rooted in patterns that started well before the behaviors did, and perfectionism woven so tightly into identity that it's hard to tell where the person ends and the performance begins. These challenges need more than talk therapy alone can offer, which is why I draw on EMDR, IFS-informed therapy, trauma-informed yoga, ketamine-assisted therapy, and ketamine-assisted EMDR, all built around a relational foundation. This kind of depth takes consistency. I work best with clients who are ready for weekly therapy or a therapy intensive, so we can keep the momentum going.

I bring over 14 years of clinical experience across inpatient, residential, and outpatient settings to this work. I've built my career around improving how trauma and eating disorders are understood and treated, including training clinicians and communities, serving on the board for Houston Eating Disorder Specialists, and building a practice that brings innovative, integrative care to people who haven't found relief through traditional treatment alone.

But as a former competitive dancer, trauma survivor, and recovering perfectionist, I really get it on a personal level. Reconnecting with myself through embodied practices and ketamine-assisted therapy changed how I understand this work, and it shapes everything I bring to my clients now.

Dr. Monica Alzate, PhD, LCSW

Therapist for Trauma, Loss, & Life Transitions

Texas License #63487

I know what it means to rebuild a life you never expected to need rebuilding. After a devastating loss upended a tenured academic career, I found myself starting over, putting the pieces back together, and discovering that healing others is part of how I healed myself.

I work with adults navigating complex life transitions: career upheaval, health changes, burnout, family conflict, parenting struggles, boundaries, loss, and retirement. Oftentimes, these challenges are combined with unresolved trauma. My approach is collaborative and evidence-based, drawing on CBT, EMDR, MBSR, mind/body techniques, psychodynamic work, and narrative therapy, tailored to each client’s needs. I look at the whole person: their environment, history, culture, and strengths. I offer therapy in English and Spanish.

For more than 30 years, I've worked across public child welfare, social work academia at the University of Oklahoma, community mental health, and mental health in primary care and medical education at Baylor College of Medicine, giving me a unique foundation in both rigorous research and compassionate care.

Outside the therapy room, I'm usually gardening, practicing yoga, reading, writing, or enjoying Houston's cultural scene and outdoors with family and friends.

Beatrice Paksa, LMSW

Trauma, OCD, & Eating Disorder Therapist

Texas License #114620

If you're living with OCD, severe anxiety, or an eating disorder, you know how deeply ingrained the thoughts, the rituals, and the rules can be. Willpower and insight aren't enough, and often traditional talk therapy alone isn't either, especially when there's a history of trauma underneath it all. I offer specialized, evidence-based treatment for these challenges.

I specialize in OCD, eating disorders, body image concerns, anxiety, and trauma. I'm trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), DBT, CBT, and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), along with advanced training in EMDR and ketamine-assisted therapy to work with the trauma that's often at the root of many mental health struggles.

I earned my MSW from the University of Texas at Austin and hold the Eating Disorder Informed Professional (EDIP) designation through Eating Recovery Center. My background includes private practice and university settings, where I've worked with individuals navigating complex trauma, eating disorders, OCD, and substance use challenges.

Supervised by Jennifer Lancaster, LCSW-S

Carolina Vargas, LPC-Associate

Anxiety, Trauma, & Eating Disorder Therapist

Texas License #103963

I work with highly sensitive individuals (HSPs) and high-achieving women navigating anxiety, OCD, trauma, or eating concerns, as well as couples seeking to repair after disconnection or betrayal. With advanced training and experience in complex trauma and eating disorders, I understand how much nuance this work requires, and I tailor treatment accordingly. I'm also bilingual and provide therapy in both English and Spanish.

My approach is warm, person-centered, attachment-based, and depth-oriented. While I incorporate evidence-based tools, my work moves beyond symptom management, exploring the emotional needs, relational experiences, and protective patterns beneath what you're experiencing. Using IFS-informed therapy, EMDR, and ketamine-assisted therapy, I help clients approach themselves with greater curiosity, compassion, and understanding. My hope is that your relationship with yourself becomes one of the safest and strongest relationships in your life. For clients who desire it, I can also incorporate spiritual and holistic elements into therapy, honoring the connection between the mind, body, relationships, and personal meaning.

In my work with couples, I help each partner understand their attachment styles and recognize what's actually driving the patterns that keep resurfacing in the relationship. I create a balanced, nonjudgmental environment where both partners feel heard, respected, and empowered to change.

In my free time, I enjoy scrapbooking, painting, traveling, and spending time in nature with her two dogs, Ellie and Birdie! 

Supervised by Ana Maria Cabezas, LPC-S, RPT, SEP

Jessica Shatkun, LPC-Associate

Trauma & Eating Disorder Therapist

Texas License #101462

I know what it feels like to start over. Career changes, international moves, reinvention, and the disorientation of building a life that no longer looks like the one you planned.

I work with teens, young adults, and adults navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and major life transitions. I'm drawn to supporting people through change, identity shifts, and the overwhelm that comes with uncertainty or loss. My approach is deeply relational, helping you understand the patterns and inner narratives keeping you stuck.

I hold an MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of St. Thomas and a BS in Psychology from Binghamton University, with specialized training in EMDR and ketamine therapy. I draw on CBT, ACT, and IFS to tailor treatment to meet your unique needs.

Before this field, I spent over a decade in oil and gas, living across New York, Houston, Singapore, Geneva, and the Bahamas. I'm also a mother of three. Those moves, reinventions, and moments of feeling disconnected are exactly what allow me to connect with clients in the middle of their own pivotal moments.

Supervised by Bridget McCauley, LPC-S

Andrew Drahuschak, RYT-200

Yoga Instructor

If your relationship with your body has felt complicated because of pain, injury, or experiences that have left you disconnected, I get it. Yoga is about building a relationship with your body that actually works for you.

I spent nearly a decade as a Special Education teacher and coach across multiple sports. That work taught me that everyone arrives with a different history, different needs, and different strengths. The job is never to fit someone into a system. It's to build on what's already there.

My own path to teaching yoga came after a brain injury. Movement helped me in ways I did not expect, steadying my nervous system, rebuilding connection, and learning to work with my body rather than against it. That experience is the foundation of how I work. I completed my RYT-200 training with a specialty in chair yoga and accessible movement, and I have a particular interest in using movement as a tool for integration, including for people engaged in psychedelic-assisted therapy work.

How We Match You With the Right Therapist

When you reach out, you don't have to figure out who to work with on your own. That's part of what the free consultation is for.

We'll listen to what's going on, ask about what you've tried before, and be honest about which clinician and approach make the most sense for you. If you have a preference for a particular therapist or approach, we take that seriously.

And if we're not the right fit, we'll tell you. We'd rather help you find the right place than start work that isn't going to serve you.