QUESTIONS? Email me at yanirahernandez@palantetherapy.com or call me at (424) 261-1572
The Pa’lante Therapy Inc. Blog
Dr. Yanira Hernandez’s journey, as featured in SHOUTOUT SOCAL, is a compelling narrative of resilience, empowerment, and dedication. Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles in a Mexican immigrant household, Dr. Hernandez’s upbringing was steeped in community, culture, and resilience, despite the challenges of community violence and under-resourced schools. Her academic journey took her from UCLA, where she earned her BA in Women’s Studies and Education Studies, to USC for her Master’s in Social Work and Doctorate in Education.
Dr. Hernandez’s professional life is a testament to her commitment to addressing systemic challenges in her community. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she provides mental health services in a Los Angeles school district and runs Pa’lante Therapy, Inc., an online private practice. Her practice specializes in working with First Generation Women of Color professionals, college/graduate students, undocumented/immigrant individuals, and Latinx families, focusing on issues like anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome, and trauma. Dr. Hernandez’s approach is culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and anti-oppressive, reflecting her dedication to decolonizing therapy and mental health practices. The name “Pa’lante Therapy” itself is a tribute to her heritage and her parents’ mantra of moving forward, embodying her journey and her mission to destigmatize mental illness in the Latinx community.
Originaly published at SHOUTOUT SOCAL
Featuring: Dr. Yanira Hernandez
Author: Sid Reddy
Categories: Work & Life, Tech & Culture
FOLLOW ME @PalanteTherapy
But notes still don’t get finished! 😩
Who else’s playlist makes them want to dance instead of work? 🫣😅
#therapymemes #therapyhumor #palantetherapy #palante #latinatherapist #firstgenlatina #mexicana #latine #documentation #therapynotes #saludmental #terapia #bandas #tamborazo #cumbias
Dedicado a las hijas mayores, eldest daughters of immigrants. ❤️ Que nuestra magia no se apague pero se transforme en amor propio.
Today, this eldest daughter of undocumented immigrants sees you loud and clear. May we lean into self compassion, self love, and be present to enjoy the glimpse of joy around us, for us, by us. ✨
Llevamos a nuestra niña interior hasta la raíz. Swipe to the end, that’s who I’m honoring today. 💕
Con abrazos,
Dra Hernández @palantetherapy
*See disclaimer in highlights regarding social media posts.
#eldestdaughter #immigrants #parentification #latinxmentalhealth #latinementalhealth #daughterofimmigrants #breakingcycles #intergenerationaltrauma #generationalhealing #firstgeneration #firstgen #healinggenerationalwounds #saludmental #terapia #firstgenlatina #latinatherapist #palante #palantetherapy #hastalaraiz
One rule I have with my clients: Never apologize for crying. Se vale llorar! 🥹
If you’ve been shamed for crying, this is for you... ❤️
✨How many times have you profusely apologized for crying?
✨How many times have you rolled your eyes and minimize your experience by thinking, “here we go again with the tears”?
✨How many times have you been told that you’re “too sensitive, too emotional, too dramatic”?
✨How many times have you been told, “I’ll give you something to cry about”? Especially in childhood.
Way too many times you’ve been shamed for having a natural biological response to an experience. When people get shamed for crying it is often due to the other individual carrying their own childhood wounds of shame and rejection around emotional expression. Someone who is crying can trigger a painful resurgence of historical trauma causing others to react by shutting down or invalidating that person’s emotions to escape their own discomfort.
When we can hold space for someone (especially our little ones) to express their tears, we show them that their experience of emotion is valid.
🍃 Breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma includes breaking the stigma that crying is a sign of weakness.
Crying doesn’t have a gender. Feeling doesn’t have
an identity. Pain doesn’t indicate your personality.
Never let stigma stop you from sharing your own truth.
Se vale lorar! Soy chillona Y chingona!
Con cariño,
Dra. Hernández @palantetherapy
*See highlights for disclaimer.
#emotions #generationaltrauma #intergenerationaltrauma #shame #stigma #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #therapy #saludmental #terapia #firstgeneration #firstgenlatina #latinatherapist #therapist #firstgen #latine #latinxtherapy #palante #palantetherapy #reelsinstagram #reels #reelsvideo
Hola comunidad, I’m extremely excited to announce that I will be a panelist for the “Rompiendo Stigmas” Panel at Revolución 2024 Latine Heritage Month Celebration from September 20-22 at the Embassy Suites in Downey, CA! ❤️
Honestly, I so appreciate @revhhm @latinbabbler for curating an event that showcases and embraces our diverse cultura with Latine speakers, panelists, creators, and artists. Literally, vamos a tener un poquito de todo y con mucho sazón!
Va ser un gran honor to share the stage on September 22nd with amazing colleagues I admire including @latinxtherapy @latinxtherapist @luis_thee_lmft @thefirstgenpsychologist and the amazing @thereallisavidal (y’all might remember her from ‘Being Mary Jane’ 🥰)
If you want to be in comunidad, celebrate cultura, honor lived experiences, and ultimately just celebrate joy, join us on September 22nd! Come network, come with all the vibes, come authentically you!
🎟️ Tickets are $25. Use codes: YANI15 or HEALTH15 for a 15% discount. There are only 100 seats available for this panel! Link in my bio for more info! Or you can directly to @revhhm
Also, I’m excited that one my amigas del alma @madeinradiance will be part of the community village! A Latina owned business providing plant based, organic skin care. My amiguis honors ancestral wisdom and her Mayan culture in her products ✨.
You’re in LA/SoCal, tráiganse a la vecin@, a la comadre, a la amiguis, a la tí@… se va poner buena la cosa! Ahí nos vemos! 🫶🏽
Abrazos,
Dra. Hernández @palantetherapy
#latineheritagemonth #latinxheritagemonth #hispanicheritagemonth #revolucionhhm #revolucionhhm24 #festival #mentalhealth #saludmental #terapia #healing #cultura #latine #latinx #latinos #downeyca #losangeles #latinatherapist #palante #palantetherapy
This past weekend I completed a training I had been eyeing for years… officially Brainspotting Phase 1 trained! 🧠
Part of the reason I waited for this particular training was because it was BIPOC focused. Centering BIPOC experiences and healing approaches and decentering Eurocentric therapeutic approaches in trainings is what I yearn for in my professional development. I’m thrilled to add Brainspotting to my tool box and incorporate another mind-body connection therapeutic approach to healing. ✨
Just like EMDR, Brainspotting is not trauma exclusive, it can also be used to address other disturbing life experiences such as depression, anxiety, dissociative presentations, substance use, phobias, etc. Because Brainspotting does not necessarily require talking in detail about the distressing issue, it allows opportunity to strengthen the mind-body connection and have a more regulated nervous system.
Brainspotting is rooted in the premise that “where you look affects how you feel.” It aims to help clients process difficult emotions or traumatic experiences using eye positioning. These eye positions can evoke emotions, sensations, and memories because they access specific ‘brainspots’ where traumatic memories are stored.
Brainspotting uses biolateral sounds, compassionate attunement and brain-body processing. Brainspotting helps the body reprocess traumas or distressing memories and emotions by resetting traumatic events so people can fully process them as they would any other normal experience. By processing these traumatic events, the brain can resume its natural healing process, increase a sense of safety, regulate the nervous system, and allow to hold new adaptive beliefs about one self. ❤️
✨Any Brainspotting trained therapist here?? Tag your favorite Brainspotter! (Adding to my Brainspotting/EMDR referral list) 💛
Les mando energía y luz,
Dra. Hernández @palantetherapy
#brainspotting #emdr #trauma #traumatherapy #traumatherapist #healing #nervoussystem #cptsd #ptsd #mindbodyconnection #dissociativedisorder #latinatherapist #lcsw #msw #socialwork #psychology #palante #palantetherapy #firstgen #firstgenlatina #generationaltrauma #generationalhealing
#UnderstoodPartner Comunidad, are you concerned about your child’s learning and thinking differences interfering with their ability to fully thrive this school year and you don’t know what to do next? I’ve partnered with @understoodorg to increase access to resources for parents who need support with navigating educational services for their child such as IEPs or 504 plans. @understoodorg is an excellent resource to learn more about IEPs and 504 plans and I truly appreciate that they have a plethora of resources in Spanish! Try out their chatbox tool as it makes finding specific resources more smoothly. Acuerdense, que estamos aqui para ayudarles!
To access free resources in English and Spanish including articles, podcasts, and community groups visit understood.org or click the link in bio.
#BeUnderstood #understoodpartner #iep #504plan #latinementalhealth #latinxmentalhealth
