Our story

A practice built on belonging.

Rivas Psychotherapy began with a question — what would mental health care look like if it truly belonged to the bilingual, bicultural communities it served?

Our journey

From one chair, to fifteen.

  1. 2009

    The beginning

    Dr. Michele Rivas opens her solo bilingual practice in Weston, Florida, after years of clinical training across the U.S., Ecuador and Colombia.

  2. 2014

    Immigration evaluations launch

    The practice begins offering specialized mental health evaluations for asylum, VAWA and U-Visa cases across South Florida.

  3. 2018

    A growing team

    The first associate clinicians join. The practice grows into a multi-disciplinary, bilingual team with shared cultural values.

  4. 2021

    Telehealth across four states

    Florida, New York, New Jersey — and a telehealth bridge to Ecuador for Latin American clients abroad.

  5. 2024

    15+ clinicians, one mission

    The team crosses 15 licensed bilingual therapists, all sharing a commitment to evidence-based, culturally fluent care.

  6. 2026

    Psychiatry joins the practice

    Alexandra Gomez, APRN PMHNP, brings bilingual psychiatric evaluations and medication management to the team — completing the continuum of care.

MR
Dr. Michele Rivas PhD · LMHC · QS · NCC · Founder
Therapy should sound like you — your language, your accent, your jokes, the silences between the words your family taught you. I built this practice so no one has to translate themselves to be understood.
— Dr. Michele Rivas
What we believe

The four commitments.

Compassion

Every story is held with care — yours included. There is no version of you too messy, too quiet, too foreign for this room.

Cultural Fluency

Bilingual isn't an add-on. Our clinicians live the bicultural experience — the family dinners, the code-switching, the in-between.

Evidence-Based

CBT, DBT, EMDR, ACT, Gottman, EFT — we use what the research supports, adapted to who you are.

Accessibility

Sliding-scale spots, insurance, online care across four states, and a free first call — because the threshold to begin should be low.

Who we serve

Care for every community.

🌎 Latino community 🛂 Immigrants 🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ affirming 🌿 Adults 🪷 Seniors 🌱 Children & adolescents 🤝 People with disabilities 🏡 Bilingual families 💼 First-gen professionals

Become part of our story.

Your first session begins with a free 15-minute call. Let's see if we're the right fit.