“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I change.”
A little bit about me…
I’m Adriana Rodriguez (she/ella), a licensed marriage and family therapist, educator, and first-generation Salvadoran immigrant. I support people navigating identity, relationships, and generational patterns—especially those trying to do things differently while honoring what matters to them.
Our family experiences can stay with us long after we leave home. They may shape how we understand love, respond to conflict, measure our worth, and decide what we owe others. Sometimes, expectations we once needed to meet become difficult to distinguish from what we want for ourselves.
I see therapy as a space to explore these experiences with curiosity, honesty, and compassion. Together, we can consider what you want to preserve, what needs to change, and how you want to participate in your relationships and your life.
Why I do this work
My path to this work is connected to my own experience of living between cultures, roles, expectations, and family histories.
I know something about learning to be responsible, adaptable, and strong—and how complicated it can feel to question the expectations that helped you belong. Caring for others can be deeply meaningful while also leaving little room for your own needs.
These experiences inform my work, but they do not tell me what your story means. I bring curiosity about the relationships and circumstances that shaped you, along with respect for the ways your experience may differ from mine.
I pay attention to family history, culture, immigration, power, and the conditions in which people live. Together, we explore how these experiences become part of your inner world and your relationships, including the ways you may have learned to protect yourself, seek connection, or earn acceptance.
Understanding that history can open possibilities. Making changes often also takes time, emotional processing, support, and opportunities to practice something different.
Adriana Rodriguez, LMFT | CA #84474
Generational Healing for Individuals, Couples, and Families
I work with people who are navigating the tension between belonging, responsibility, and making room for themselves.
Many of my clients are:
First-generation adults and adult children of immigrants.
People living between cultures, languages, or identities.
BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ adults seeking space for the fullness of their experiences.
Individuals carrying guilt, self-doubt, or an outsized sense of family responsibility.
Couples navigating disconnection, resentment, conflict, or changing expectations.
Adult siblings, parents and adult children, and families working through grief, caregiving, or longstanding relational patterns.
You may be asking: “How do I care for the people I love while also taking myself seriously?”
You do not need a clear answer—or the right words—to begin.
Who I work with
How I work
Therapy with me is relational, collaborative, and grounded in your lived experience. My approach draws on family systems, psychodynamic, and humanistic traditions, with attention to trauma, culture, and power.
We explore what happens between you and others, alongside what happens within you: the expectations you carry, the feelings that recur, and the ways you have come to understand yourself.
I listen for connections across your stories and offer observations for us to consider together. We might notice how an earlier relationship shapes what you expect now, how a familiar role keeps returning, or how self-criticism makes it difficult to trust your judgment. Your response helps us understand whether a connection fits.
Our relationship also matters. There is room to tell me when something feels helpful, uncomfortable, or off the mark.
Sometimes our work is gentle and spacious. Sometimes I am direct, naming a pattern or inviting you to consider your participation in it. We make room for compassion and accountability, while recognizing differences in power, responsibility, and capacity.
What change can look like
You may understand where a feeling comes from and still feel it strongly. We make room for the time and experience it takes for understanding to become something you can use.
Depending on your needs, our work may include grieving what was missing, learning to respond to difficult emotions, practicing new ways of communicating, or reconsidering responsibilities that have become unsustainable. We also attend to the practical support and circumstances that affect what is possible.
Change might mean feeling less governed by guilt, recognizing more choices, or responding differently when an old pattern appears. It might mean asking for help, sharing responsibility, deepening connection, or deciding that distance is necessary.
You can understand someone’s history and still name the harm they caused. You can value a relationship and want it to change. You can choose a meaningful responsibility and acknowledge its weight.
We work together to understand what a more intentional and sustainable life could look like for you.
Identity, justice, and collective care
My work is informed by commitments to cultural humility, justice, and collective care. Racism, migration, exclusion, economic pressure, and other forms of systemic harm can shape both our relationships and how we experience ourselves.
There is room here to name those realities, recognize sources of cultural and community strength, and explore the support you need. We consider both the changes available to you and the conditions you should not have to navigate alone.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THERAPY
For cycle-breakers, first-gen adults, and folks navigating identity, healing, and growth.
We may explore:
Self-trust and emotional regulation
Intergenerational patterns and internalized beliefs
Grief, trauma, and shame resilience
Cultural identity and belonging
Building a life aligned with your values
For partners wanting to build something rooted in connection, trust, and clarity.
We may explore:
Communication challenges and unmet needs
Relationship repair and trust-building
Conflict patterns and emotional safety
Identity shifts and cultural dynamics
Creating rituals of connection and meaning
For adult siblings, parent-child pairs, and families ready to break cycles together.
We may explore:
Intergenerational trauma and legacy burdens
Boundary-setting and emotional repair
Communication that fosters trust
Role changes and reparenting dynamics
Healing across generations with intention
“The most radical thing any of us can do is to truly see and be seen.”