therapist, new york, trans, queer, July Hernandez, non-binary

Hey love! My name is July Hernandez and I use She/Her/Hers/ and They/Them/ Their pronouns. I am a White-latine Queer Trans-fem/Non-binary counselor at Wise Therapy under the supervision of Julian Cabezas. I have a master's in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from NYU and a bachelor's in Psychology and in Criminal Justice from the University of Alabama. I was raised in the southern U.S. which has greatly informed my own understanding of class, queerness, intersectionality, and social structures. I am someone who focuses on anti-oppression, anti-capitalist, anti-racist, and anti-colonial social justice values and understandings within my life and my therapy. I like to think of myself as an authentic, honest, confident, and capable person who really cares about those around me including my clients. I aim to constantly grow as a counselor both within my knowledge of interventions/ modalities but also within the various interpersonal factors that may be present in my client's life.

Areas of Focus

- Anger management

- Empowerment

- Life-transitions

- Religious truama

- School, work, and career struggles

- Self-esteem

- Shame/guilt

- Stress management

My Approach To Therapy

Trans woman Therapist, Trans therapist, NYC therapist, Queer therapist, July in front of a scenic foliage background

I aim to offer a warm, honest, non-judgmental, and accessible space for folks to grow in themselves, their goals, and their relationships. In a more clinical sense, I am an integrative therapist who utilizes a trauma-informed, emotion-focused, person-centered, queer, feminist, and multicultural paradigm when trying to understand and communicate with my clients. I utilize modalities such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, somatic therapy, narrative therapy, relational therapy, sex therapy, and internal-family-system approaches within my practice to find creative ways to help you best reach your goals. In essence, whatever might work best for you within my toolset we can utilize it to your advantage.

It is important for me to come into the room authentically and not perpetuate the trope that therapists are cold, removed, or lacking empathy. I hold my identities and my personhood at the core of my being and am proud of who I am. I want to offer to other queer/ TGNC multiracial folks the therapist I never had so that they may be inspired, comforted, and understood in a space where there are not many folks like us. My own love and gratitude for myself encourage' me to foster the same relationship values within you so that you may walk in pride to an even greater extent. Empathy and care can create change, even if we do not see it at first. Whether we are trying to give care to our past, present, or future selves, I aim to offer a space where gratitude, empathy, and authenticity can feel at home.

My approach to therapy is based on the tenets of collaboration, empathy, understanding, accountability, and curiosity. Therapy can be and has been a hostile and oppressive space for many folks throughout its conception, especially BIPOC, disabled, and LGBTQ+ folks. It is highly important to me to recognize both your and my identities within the space so that I may acknowledge the systems of power at play and hold space for our differences and our similarities. I recognize that for many folks therapy has upheld its colonial, white-centric, western-centric ideals that it was founded upon, but that is not how I will conduct myself during our time together. I will continually try and recognize and hold myself accountable for any biases or unfair assumptions I bring into the room.

My only goals in the room are for you to feel safe, comfortable, seen, heard, authentic, and respected. From my own experience, I know therapy can be daunting and confusing, but it is my belief that through our collaborative efforts, we can make meaningful experiences and discoveries within the therapeutic setting while also figuring out what therapy means for you. I want to meet you where you are and honor the expertise that you have on yourself, your experiences, and your emotions. Society has often expressed that in order to commit to therapy something must be wrong with you. This is a false and extremely distressing narrative. Each of us is allowed to and should be encouraged to seek the help or guidance we need when we need it.

Diagnoses can be helpful to understand patterns or to name our experiences but they are not and should not be the intention or driving force for therapy. Diagnoses also have the potential to be harmful to folks and do not encompass all aspects of one's personhood. In my practice, A diagnosis may be necessary for insurance or logistical purposes but in every case, I will speak to you about any diagnosis given. We can discuss why the diagnosis was given, what are its ramifications, and if other diagnoses were considered. Diagnoses are not the ultimate goal in my practice. If you feel a diagnosis might be helpful for you that is also something we can discuss. I want to make this a space where you feel seen and authentic without feeling pathologized. Whatever we decide to do transparency will be ensured on my part.

July Therapy

Areas of Focus

My Approach To Therapy