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If you're tired of hearing "oh, but you're too young to be sick" or "but, have you tried managing stress? I've heard that can help manage pain" then you're in the right place.
Hey! I’m Natalia Alas Durán, a bilingual Latina therapist who works with adults (18+) navigating chronic illness, chronic pain, and trauma. I am based in Austin, Texas and provide virtual therapy for adults in Texas and Massachusetts.
My Approach
My Approach
My approach to therapy is warm, relational, and direct. I believe most of our emotions are a reasonable response to our life experiences, so a lot of our work starts with slowing down enough to understand your reactions instead of judging them. In session, I’ll probably say “that makes a lot of sense” often, because usually it does.
Together, we'll explore why you feel the way you do, identify the patterns that keep you feeling stuck, and work toward building a life that feels meaningful and aligned with your values. I balance emotional processing with practical strategies, insight, humor, and compassionate accountability.
Many of the people I work with are used to being the strong one or the person everyone else relies on. They are navigating pain, chronic physical symptoms, anxiety, childhood trauma, and burnout while still trying to function at work, school, in relationships, or for their families. Therapy can become a place where you don’t have to minimize how hard things are or hold everything together alone.
I especially enjoy working with adults who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), neurodivergent, queer, first-generation, or whose identities shape the way they experience responsibility, rest, and healing.
My Experience
My Experience
With over ten years of experience in medical and integrated health settings, I bring a holistic, trauma-informed, and culturally attuned approach to therapy. My background includes supporting immigrant communities, first gen college students, young adult caregivers, and culturally-diverse clients within healthcare clinics and hospitals.
Alongside my clinical experience, I also bring lived experience as a multiracial child of immigrants and as someone who navigates daily life with chronic illness and disability into my work. These experiences shape the way I understand identity, healthcare systems, culture, and accessibility, allowing me to provide care that is both culturally responsive and affirming of disability and illness.
In my practice, I support adults navigating a wide range of chronic health conditions, including:
Autoimmune conditions
Chronic pain
Cancer & Survivorship
Tinnitus
Gastrointestinal and digestive conditions
Endometriosis
POTS and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
Traumatic brain injury
Fibromyalgia
Health anxiety
...and many others
A Little About Me
Outside of therapy, I try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. If the weather is nice, you’ll probably find me in my backyard or exploring a park or hiking trail with my two puppies, Flan and Osito, who seem to believe their life mission is making sure I never sleep.
I also enjoy writing, drawing, and watching my comfort TV shows. And I can definitely be a bit of a nerd when it comes to mental health — I read my first psychotherapy book when I was 15.
Therapies Approaches I Use For Trauma and Chronic Illness
I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. I integrate several evidence-based modalities depending on what best supports your needs.
In our work together, I may draw from:
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) | Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) | Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) | Narrative Therapy | Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) | Cognitive Processing Therapy | Trauma-informed Somatic and Nervous System Approaches.
These approaches can help address concerns such as anxiety, depression, chronic pain, trauma, grief, anger, and the emotional impact of living with chronic illness.
At the end of the day, though, therapy with me is not about throwing coping skills at you while leaving you to drown in turbulent waters. I’m not a therapist who shies away from heavy emotions, complicated realities, or even dark humor (To be honest, I'll probably even joke along with you). You deserve to have a space where you don't have to convince someone that what you're carrying is real before you can begin healing and where you can show up as your full self.
Whether you're grieving the life that has abruptly changed, adjusting to a new diagnosis, feeling burned out by the healthcare system, or exhausted from carrying so much on your own, I can ride the waves with you without minimizing them, rushing you through them, or making you feel like you have to navigate them alone.
Education & Training
Education & Training
Licensed Clinical Social Worker and board approved supervisor (LCSW-S) in Texas #111318
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) in Massachusetts #121901
Baylor University, B.A. in Psychology, B.A. in Professional Writing
Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, bilingual MSW Program with a Latinx Leadership Initiative Certificate
Boston University, Postgraduate Certificate in the Treatment of Trauma
Trained in EMDR + EMDR for Chronic Pain and Illness Protocol
Trained in Brainspotting, Phase 1
Advanced Training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Advanced Training in Narrative Therapy for Chronic Illness
Professional Experience
Professional Experience
My clinical work spans medical, academic, and community settings, which shapes how I approach therapy today. My experience includes:
Integrated behavioral health therapist at a large public university, primarily supporting diverse college-aged adults with chronic illness and/or disabilities within the university's general medicine clinic.
Therapist at a nationally recognized cancer institute, working with patients and caregivers navigating cancer, illness, medical trauma, palliative care, and grief.
Primary Spanish-speaking clinician in a community health center's PACE program, providing therapy, case management, and palliative care services to Spanish-speaking older adults (55+) with chronic health conditions and disabilities as well as their caregivers.
Facilitator and educator in various settings, providing workshops and trainings on trauma, chronic illness, culturally-responsive practices, and caregiver well-being.
Clinical supervisor, mentoring clinicians in trauma-informed care, identity-affirming practice, and work with immigrant populations.
Who I Work With
Who I Work With
First-generation individuals balancing cultural heritage and identity.
Individuals who are seeking mental health services for the first time, including neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ clients
Those living with chronic illness, disabilities, cancer, or chronic pain
Young adults who care for an ill family or community member while trying to navigate responsibilities, relationships, and work/school
Individuals who have experienced trauma, including racial, intergenerational, or medical trauma
College-aged students navigating anxiety, depression, perfectionism
Ready to get started?
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