Provider Spotlight: Veronica Vargas, LPC
This month’s spotlight provider is Veronica Vargas, LPC. As the Director of Clinical Services at Parenting With Intent, Veronica Vargas works toward holistic wellness for families. Practicing with an anti-oppressive lens, she helps clients identify and recover from systemic trauma and injustice that impacts them on a personal level.
Veronica’s work with clients reminds them that they have taken a courageous first step when they seek help. She celebrates this courage as she walks alongside her clients on their healing journeys. This journey often involves healing the trauma in someone’s story as Veronica supports parents who are first-generation trauma-cycle breakers.
This critical work allows Veronica to help families reconnect and recognize that they are not alone. Wherever they are in life, they can show up as their authentic selves in this process and explore whichever areas of their lives they want to transform.
From Medicine to Mental Health
Before attending Pacifica Graduate Institute, Veronica worked in the medical field and considered becoming a medical doctor. During this time in the medical world, she experienced the value of listening and being present with people who had physical concerns. She also saw the connection between medical ailments and emotional burdens in patients.
During her undergraduate time at Rollins College, Veronica first learned about Carl Jung and his work. And eventually, she decided to pursue a career in mental health to dive further into what it means to live the human experience. She studied depth psychotherapy in grad school, and her work now incorporates its holistic view of human development, early attachments, and intergenerational cycles of trauma.
Veronica primarily sees clients through online appointments, helping to make mental wellness more accessible. Her hope is that each client, even if they only meet with her one time, will understand that they have stepped out in boldness and courage toward health, wellness, and greater knowing.
Life Outside of Client Work
Veronica grew up in a military family. Her parents were originally from The Caribbean, but she and her siblings lived all over the US and Europe as army kids.
When it was time to put down roots with her spouse and their son, Veronica didn’t want to end up moving again. With that goal in mind, she had specific criteria for where they would land:
Bikeability
Good Food
Good Music
Close to Water, Mountains, and Forests
As luck would have it, Oregon fit the bill just right. She and her family can enjoy endless hours outdoors here in the Pacific Northwest, nurturing their relationship to the Earth. This access to nature helps Veronica maintain the connected, grounded presence that she helps her clients to find.
