- Narrative therapy focus
- Indigenous Ways of Knowing
- CBT and mindfulness
About Sibella
Dr. Sibella Salazar is a New Mexico psychologist (NM Psychologist PSY1700) with eight years of experience as a mental health provider. She has helped people managing depression, anxiety, relationship struggles, and trauma. She also supports those facing grief, self-esteem concerns, identity questions, and stress related to work or parenting.
She spent two years at a community clinic in Minneapolis working with Indigenous communities. There she addressed complex trauma, historical and intergenerational trauma, sociocultural stressors, and problems that come from removal from primary caretaker homes. That experience informs how she listens for social and historical context in sessions.
Her approach is interactive and relational, grounded in narrative therapy as a foundation. Narrative therapy means talking through the stories that shape how people see themselves, and noticing which stories they want to keep or revise. She draws on a range of evidence-based techniques to do that, including cognitive-behavioral ideas and mindfulness practices.
Dr. Salazar incorporates Indigenous Ways of Knowing to guide how interventions are selected and used. She emphasizes respect for cultural influences and attention to systemic factors that affect mental health. This shapes how she frames goals and the kinds of strategies suggested.
People often come for help with guilt and shame, attachment questions, blended family stress, caregiver strain, and recovery from traumatic experiences. She works with issues around intimacy, career transitions, and coping with life changes, aiming to clarify next steps and practical coping skills.
How therapeutic approaches guide online sessions
Online work with Dr. Salazar is informed by narrative therapy, which centers the stories people tell about themselves. Narrative therapy helps name and reframe stories that contribute to guilt, shame, or stuck patterns by separating the person from the problem and identifying alternative narratives.She also uses cognitive-behavioral techniques in straightforward ways to notice unhelpful thinking and practice small behavior changes. Those techniques can help with anxiety, depressive thinking, sleep difficulties, and stress. Mindfulness practices are offered as short exercises to help ground attention and reduce reactivity when painful memories or shameful feelings arise.
Finding the right approach is treated as a collaboration. The therapist will work with each person to figure out which combination of narrative work, cognitive-behavioral strategies, or mindfulness makes the most sense given goals and preferences. Choices are adjusted over time based on how clients respond.
The biography does not specify session formats, so confirm current online options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, shorten travel time, and allow for different ways to engage such as using audio-only or video check-ins when helpful. Licensed professionals typically adapt pacing, homework, and in-session exercises to suit the practical realities of working remotely.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Experience
8+ years
Listed in
New Mexico
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she address related to guilt and shame?
She works with people experiencing guilt and shame alongside trauma, grief, relationship issues, and family of origin concerns.
How would she describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is interactive and relational, using narrative therapy as a foundation while drawing on other evidence-based techniques.
What is her clinical background and experience?
She has eight years as a mental health provider and spent two years at a community clinic in Minneapolis working with Indigenous communities on trauma-related concerns.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is a New Mexico psychologist, listed as NM Psychologist PSY1700, and practices in New Mexico.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What formats are available for sessions?
The original biography does not list specific session formats; please confirm current session options before booking.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin if I want to work with her?
Start by selecting the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.