About Ali rodriguez, lmft
Life is messy, let’s make sense of it together.
In-person in Carmel and online across California
please Hear me when I say:
Whatever brought you here, it’s real and it matters .
Maybe you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or just know something needs to change. You don't need to "just think positive" or "get over it", you need actual support navigating actual hard things.
How I work
Sessions with me are relaxed and collaborative. I'll paint pictures with metaphors, find the funny when it's there, and give it to you straight when that's what you need.
I know when you're struggling, you need relief now - not six months from now. So we'll work on both: practical tools to help you cope with what's happening today, while also digging into the deeper patterns that keep you stuck. Think of it like treating a cut, we'll clean the wound and figure out what keeps causing you to trip.
You don't need to have your thoughts organized or know exactly what to talk about. Come as you are - anxious, shut down, falling apart, holding it together with duct tape, or somewhere in between. This is a place where messy is normal and nothing's too much.
My goal is to work myself out of a job. I want you to leave here knowing yourself so deeply that you become your own best support. Until then? I've got you.
I specialize in creating connection
I believe the most important part of our work together, beyond advanced training or any method, is the relationship we build. That’s why I lead with connection- it’s what makes everything else work. Clients tell me all the time: "I know you're my therapist, but you feel like my friend", which means the world to me.
I bring genuine warmth and my whole self into the room. I take time to really know you, not just your symptoms or struggles, but you as an actual person. Your life, your stories, your perspective. I pay attention because the small stuff is often the big stuff. I remember that your dog is named Mochi, that December is always hard for you, and I connect what you said today to that thing you said three months ago. This isn't just good memory, it's intentional care.
When someone truly sees you, all of you, without judgment, something shifts. You stop performing. You find courage to be vulnerable. You finally just... exist as yourself. That's when therapy really works, because change happens when you feel genuinely known and accepted. And creating that kind of safe, connected space is what I'm best at.
