Lina Guerrero

Becoming a therapist was never a part of my life bingo card. In fact, I like to say that this work chose me and not the other way around! For most of my life, I never felt I “fit” in the boxes that the world tried to fit me in. I was one of the only Brown kids on the swim team. I had curly hair instead of straight. I watched the Food Network and Discovery Channel instead of Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. I’ve always been a curious, nerdy, and empathetic person who questioned why people and the world are the way they are, and I deeply *felt* my way through life in beautiful, and often overwhelming, ways.

My original plan during undergrad was to go to law school. However, after interning in an immigration and employment law firm, I saw firsthand the contradictions of our legal, political, and social systems, primarily how they can protect people in some ways but oftentimes can severely harm others. I continued to see this trend through my experiences over the last 7 years working in nonprofit organizations, violence intervention, the criminal legal system, restorative justice, community health, substance use recovery, and mental health spaces. Additionally, I discovered I am neurodivergent as an adult, and this journey validated much of my life’s experiences of curiosity and feeling misunderstood. All these experiences made me passionate about the intersections of healing and health within the traumatic systems in which we all live, and it’s truly an honor and privilege to hold space for individuals to be seen, heard, and valued.

I was born and raised in Austin and moved back to the city last year after living in Maryland, Kansas City, and Chicago over the last ten years. Outside of work, I love to enjoy the arts by seeing plays in the local theater community, swimming, dancing, reading, traveling, and snuggling with my senior Chihuahua mix, Gonzalo.