THERESA A. SEGURA-HERRERA
Chicago
Summary
Compassionate and culturally responsive Licensed Clinical Psychologist with 15+ years of experience delivering evidence-based psychotherapy, clinical supervision, counselor training, and trauma-informed mental health services across university counseling, healthcare, community mental health, and private practice settings. Extensive expertise in individual, group, couples, and family therapy; graduate and post-graduate clinical supervision; crisis intervention; and multidisciplinary collaboration. Success in supporting diverse and historically underserved populations through culturally tailored treatment approaches utilizing CBT, DBT, ACT, Family Systems, and integrative therapeutic modalities. Bicultural-bilingual (Spanish-English) with a strong background in higher education, counselor and student mental health support.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Virtual Psychologist, Full time
ERC Pathlight (Eating & Recovery Center), Virtual Intensive Outpatient (VIOP)
06.2025 - Current
- Deliver virtual intensive outpatient individual and group psychotherapy rooted in CBT-, ACT- DBT-, CBT to adults from diverse backgrounds (age, culture, race/ethnicity, neurodivergent, socioeconomic, gender, sexual orientation, religious, veterans) with severe mood/anxiety and other mental disorders.
- Conduct biopsychosocial intake assessments to create evidence-based treatment plans using trauma informed care.
- Efficiently build rapport and engage a wide-ranging patient base to deliver culturally responsive evidence-based care.
- Adapt evidence based psychoeducational material and interventions to patients’ cultural context, needs, internal/external stressors to enhance healthy coping.
- Attend team meetings, supervision, and inform leadership about patient care / needs (transfer of care, discharge).
- Liaise with Pts’ outpatient providers, facilitate continuity of care upon discharge.
- Uphold timely record-keeping using EHR.
Senior Therapist III, Part time
ERC Pathlight (Eating & Recovery Center), Virtual Intensive Outpatient
06.2024 - 06.2025
- Delivered CBT-, ACT-, DBT-, EFT-based group and individual therapy virtually to diverse (age, gender, culture, neurodivergent, socioeconomically) using trauma informed care to adult and adolescent patients presenting with eating, mood, and/or anxiety disorders.
- Met weekly with individual patients and groups on assigned caseload and/or for floating coverage to evaluate their progress, meet their treatment goals, conduct ongoing safety assessments, perform intake and/or discharge assessments.
- Quickly built rapport with patients covered.
- Shared constantly within program’s multidisciplinary team (dietician, other individual/group clinicians) about patient progress, safety, etc.
- Ensured contact with existing outpatient providers for patients’ continuity of care.
- Maintained timely record-keeping using EHR.
Licensed Psychologist & Owner
The Relationship Institute/El Instituto Relacional, Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL
01.2016 - 03.2025
- Manage part-time private practice to provide culturally responsive, evidence-based, and trauma-informed individual, couple, and family therapy to a diverse clientele (socioeconomic, gender, sexual orientation, neurodivergent, ethnic/racial, religious, age/generation, documentation status, disability, acculturation) both in English and Spanish, presenting with concerns such as complex trauma, depression, PTSD, anxiety, intergenerational conflict, acculturative clashes/ micro aggressive distress, grief/loss, difficulty conceiving/infertility/IVF, among other stressors.
- Conduct intake assessments in person and virtually to assess clients, diagnose, provide culturally tailored treatment plans targeting presenting concerns and/or refer to appropriate level of care.
- Provide integrative psychotherapy sessions both in person and via telehealth utilizing collaborative, CBT, DBT, ACT, Family Systems (among others) approaches while tailoring to symptoms, needs (linguistic, neurodivergent, developmental, internal/external/contextual stressors (discrimination, racism, poverty, unemployment, violence, abuse, immigration status).
- Deliver clinical supervision to psychology professionals seeking state licensure.
- Outreach to medical doctors, nurses, lawyers, family members, others (as appropriate) to ensure integrated client care.
- Use Therapy Notes EHR to upkeep client records.
Licensed Psychologist
Centro Castillo for Personal and Family Wellbeing, Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL
07.2013 - 03.2015
- Delivered integrative psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and families on a part-time basis to a diverse caseload (gender, ethnic/racial, socioeconomic, veterans, religious, age, veterans, neurodivergent, documentation status, disability, sexual orientation, acculturation) of children, adolescents, and adults presenting with wide-ranging concerns of depression, anxiety, PTSD, psychosis, marital and familial distress, difficulty conceiving/infertility/IVF, victimization (community, intimate partner, other forms of violence, abuse) while using various theory informed approaches (Psychoeducational, CBT, DBT, ACT, Family Systems, among others as needed).
- Assessed for client’s needs in Spanish and English to culturally tailor treatment plans targeting presenting concerns.
- Administered, interpreted, presented psychological testing results, including immigration hardship interviews/evaluations, using measures such as: BASC-2 Behavior Assessment System; Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale (GADS); Children’s Depression Inventory-2nd Edition (CDI-2; Self-Report, Teacher, Parent Scales), the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III), the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV (BAARS), and Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS-Self Report Scale).
- Communicated with clients’ teachers, physicians, and/or insurance companies to discuss client progress as needed.
Post-Doctoral Intern
Pierce Elementary School, Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL
09.2011 - 04.2013
- Delivered individual, group, and family counseling, in Spanish and English using a brief-solution-focused approach and integrative counseling to ethnically diverse elementary school students for issues such as academic struggles, interpersonal conflicts, behavioral, social-emotional concerns (Caseload of 12-15 clients, for weekly sessions)
- Consulted with parents, teachers, and other providers about treatment planning /strategies for improvement, or referral/recommendations to appropriate level of care.
- Co-facilitated evidence-based psycho-educational groups for middle school students struggling with varied issues (academic disengagement, gossiping, bullying).
- Coordinated and supervised graduate students’ implementation/delivery of socioemotional curriculum with varied topics for middle school students (anti-bullying, healthy friendships, dating relationships, conflict resolution) and the collection of pre- and post-data.
- Attended consultations with school staff related to student comportment issues as needed.
- Supervisor: Elizabeth M. Vera, PhD
Psychology Resident
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL
07.2006 - 08.2007
- Completed pre-doctoral internship by providing varied integrative psychotherapy in Spanish and English to individuals, groups, and families to a diverse client base (neurodivergent, acculturation, ages 4 through 75, race/culture/ethnicity), using culturally adapted interventions with presenting concerns ranging from chronic/acute distress or trauma, attention deficit/hyperactivity, infertility to anxiety and depressive disorders, chronic mental illness, interpersonal/relational issues
- Delivered holistic care to patients referred by the Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/Gyn) Women’s clinic by consulting with medical staff, providing patients with mental health assessments, individual psychotherapy to target symptoms of depression, anxiety, chemical dependence, distress from medically complicated pregnancies, pregnancy loss, trauma, and external challenges such as poverty, domestic violence, DCFS involvement.
- Co-facilitated an Adolescent Girls therapy group to address various issues such as interpersonal/relational conflict in friendships/family, depression, psychosis, anxiety, and loss.
- Co-led substance use disorder groups to diverse clients seeking wide range of control (abstinence to harm reduction) who were referred by various sources (inpatient hospitals, employers, court, self, detox programs).
- Attended case staffing meetings and intervention seminars that included didactics in conceptualizing, applying, and tailoring psychodynamic, CBT, Family System-based interventions, and weekly case consultations.
- Used Epic HER to maintain documentation.
- Supervisors: Isaac Boyd, M.A. CADC, Carroll Craddock, PhD, and Elizabeth Rutha, PsyD (Training Director)
Doctoral Practicum Student Intern
Dane County Mental Health Center, Madison, WI
Madison, WI
09.2002 - 07.2006
- Delivered CBT-based individual and couples therapy to socioeconomically, culturally diverse adults (Spanish, English speaking) presenting to address interpersonal relational difficulties, adjustment disorders, depression, anxiety, Bipolar disorder, PTSD, psychosis, often exacerbated by under-or unemployment, food insecurity, abuse (intimate partner, employer).
- Co-facilitated exposure therapy groups designed to use in vivo exposure after succeeding in previous graded exposures.
- Administered, interpreted and presented results from psychological assessments (e.g., MMPI2, Brief Symptom Inventory, Millon Multiaxial Personality Inventory) in Spanish and English.
- Attended weekly didactics of clinical and theoretical topics for interns and the multidisciplinary team meetings for clinical case reviews with staff.
- Supervisor: Marcelo Trinidad-Carrillo, PhD
Doctoral Practicum Student
University of Wisconsin – Madison, WI, Counseling and Consultation Services, Madison, WI
Madison, WI
08.2004 - 02.2005
- Provided solution-focused, short-term, individual counseling with culturally diverse undergraduate and graduate students (STEM, humanities, business, international, first generation) within a university-based interdisciplinary health service model.
- Collaborated with clients to tailor treatment plans that addressed common concerns such as adjustment disorders, alcohol/substance use, symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders, distress from work-life balance in family and academic expectations
- Co-facilitated brief psycho-educational Mindfulness and Stress management groups for general college students and female college students of color.
- Attended weekly didactic training specific to college student service delivery with topics such as crisis counseling, anxiety, depression, and psychiatric medications.
- Supervisor: Patricia Kehoe, PhD
Supervision Extern
Counseling Psychology Program
Madison, WI
01.2004 - 05.2004
- Provided individual weekly supervision to master’s level counseling trainees
- Received weekly feedback/supervision of supervision based on taped supervision sessions (and some transcribed supervision sessions).
- Reviewed audio taped counseling session of trainees, providing written and verbal feedback
- Utilized consultations and case presentation of supervision sessions offered by seminar course
- Attended and prepared seminar course topics related to the theory and practice of psychotherapy supervision
- Supervisor: Hardin Coleman, PhD
Doctoral Practicum Student
Dane County Mental Health Center, Madison, WI
Madison, WI
09.2003 - 05.2004
- Conducted state-developed screenings to assess client substance use patterns and their intensity to determine the “best” fitting treatment modality (e.g., outpatient individual substance use, group, inpatient, residential substance use).
- Provided individual therapy in Spanish and English with a culturally and economically diverse adult clientele who presented with co-occurring substance use/dependence issues and mental illness (both voluntary and mandated treatment).
- Co-facilitated, male substance-abuse recovery group.
- Supervisor: Sue Moran, LCPC, CADC
Education
Ph.D. - Counseling Psychology
University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW-Madison)
Madison, WI01-2008
M.A. - Community Counseling
Loyola University – Chicago
Chicago, IL01-2000
B.S. - Psychology; minor: Spanish Literature
Loyola University – Chicago
Chicago, IL01-1995
Skills
- Empathy
- Analytical thinking
- Multicultural competence
- Mental health diagnosis
- DSM classification
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Rapport-building
Certification
- Illinois Clinical Psychologist #071008568
- Active Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT), PSYPACT Commission (IL) Mobility #7735
TEACHING
8/2016-8/2025 Associate Professor, Counseling Psychology department, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, IL
- Instructed and mentored graduate counseling psychology students in a 60-credit clinical training program.
- Delivered coursework in trauma, family systems, counseling techniques, treatment planning, practicum, internship, and multicultural counseling across in-person and online learning environments.
- Provided weekly clinical supervision to counseling trainees and internship students over 14 academic years, strengthening clinical judgment, ethical decision-making, and professional identity development.
- Evaluated student clinical competencies through live supervision, video review, transcripts, and capstone assessments to ensure readiness for practice.
- Coordinated Marriage and Family Therapy and Trauma & Crisis concentrations by updating curriculum and aligning instructional materials.
- Supported curriculum development, student success, and internship readiness through committee leadership.
- Partnered with community organizations to support applied research and student-led conference presentations.
8/2011-8/2016 Assistant Professor, Counseling Psychology department, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, IL
- Academically advised students and taught various courses to diverse student body in 60-credit Counseling Psychology Master’s degree program such as Professional Development I and II, Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Practicum & Internship Seminars, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Clinical Interviewing with Latinos.
• Provided weekly supervision to students on internship taking my internship seminar course for 14 academic years. Supervision centered around students’ clinical caseloads, defining professional boundaries, and their development as professional counselors.
• Supervised and gave students live feedback for Basic Interviewing Skills, Counseling Techniques & Treatment Planning labs while multiple, simultaneous student dyads role played skills for during years taught at the MACP department..
• Gave thorough constructive criticism in written and verbal format to students based on review of final projects/Capstones (mock intake interviews for Basic Interviewing Skills, multiple sessions Capstones for Counseling Techniques, client session for Practicum/Internship Seminars).
1/2008 – 8/2011 Assistant Professor, Counselor Education Program Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL
- Taught counseling and counselor education courses within a CACREP-accredited master’s degree program.
- Provided live clinical supervision and performance feedback to counseling students during interviewing labs and recorded counseling simulations.
- Strengthened student clinical competency via evaluation of counseling sessions, treatment planning, and client engagement techniques.
- Advised graduate students academically and professionally while supporting retention and program success.
- Managed federally funded grant awarded by SAMHSA to directly supervise and train undergraduate student-peer educators on HIV, STI, and liver disease prevention program on campus. Revitalized prevention program's visibility and students served on campus.
- Contributed to departmental and university initiatives through committee leadership and collaborative service.
SELECT SCHOLARLY WORK
Refereed Journals
- Gloria, A.M., Castellanos, J., Segura-Herrera, T. A., & Mayorga, M. (2010). Assessing cultural orientation, cultural fit, and help-seeking attitudes for Latina undergraduates. Journal of College Counseling, 13, 126-140.
- Moreno, G. & Segura-Herrera, T. (2014). Special education referrals and disciplinary actions for Latino students in the United States. Journal of Multicultural Learning and Teaching, 9, 33-51.
- Quintana, S. M., & Segura-Herrera, T. A. (2003). Developmental transformations of self and identity in the context of oppression. Journal of Self and Identity, 2, 269-285.
- Segura-Herrera, T.A., Ayala, J., Jones, S., & Moore, T. (2015). Basta ya con las microaggressiones: Expanding notions of violence for Latinas. Latina/o Psychology Today, 2(1), 30-34.
Published Chapters
- Segura-Herrera, T. A., Gloria, A. M, & Nichols, G. C. (2006). Mexican Americans. In Y. Jackson (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Multicultural Psychology. Sage.
- Segura-Herrera, T. A. (2006). Querer es poder: Maintaining and creating familia as a doctoral student. In J. Castellanos, A. M. Gloria, & M. Kamimura (Eds.), The Latina/o pathway to the Ph.D.: Abriendo caminos (pp. 221-231). Stylus.
- Gloria, A. M. & Segura-Herrera, T. A. (2004). Ambrocia and Omar go to college: A psychosociocultural examination of Chicanos and Chicanas in higher education. In R. J. Velasquez, B. McNeill, & L. Arellano (Eds.), Handbook of Chicana and Chicano psychology (pp. 401-425). Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Gloria, A. M., & Segura-Herrera, T. A. (2003).! Somos!: Latinos and Latinas in the U.S. In D. Atkinson, G. Morton, & D. W. Sue (Eds.), Counseling American Minorities: A cross cultural perspective (pp. 279-299). McGraw Hill.
Presentations ~ National
- Ratz, C., Segura-Herrera, T. A, & Chivers, K., (August 2019). Considerations for Culturally Responsive Psychoeducation for Latinx Couples. Symposium presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.
- Segura-Herrera, T. A, Ratz, C., Chivers, K., & Vallejo, V. (October 2018). Latinx couples: Fortaleciendo el respaldo de nuestras familias with a culturally responsive psycho-educational curriculum. Symposia presented at the National Latina/o Psychological Association 2018 Conference, San Diego, California.
- Segura-Herrera, T. A, Ratz, C., Gomez, R., Chivers, K., & Besser, E. (August 2017). Reaching Latina/o Couples: Culturally Adapting and Informing Evidence-Based Practice. Symposium presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.
- Segura-Herrera, T. A, Ratz, C., Jin, R. L., Gomez, R., & Prendergast, B. (October 2016). Latino couple empowerment via culturally responsive relationship education. Symposia presented at the National Latina/o Psychological Association 2016 Conference, Orlando, Florida.
Affiliations
- 2008 - present American Psychological Association Member
- 2022 - present Member of APA Division 12 Society of Clinical Psychology
- 2019 - present Member APA Division 17 Society of Counseling Psychology
- 2019 - present Member APA Division 45 Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, & Race
LANGUAGES
Fluent in Spanish
Timeline
Virtual Psychologist, Full time
ERC Pathlight (Eating & Recovery Center), Virtual Intensive Outpatient (VIOP)
06.2025 - Current
Senior Therapist III, Part time
ERC Pathlight (Eating & Recovery Center), Virtual Intensive Outpatient
06.2024 - 06.2025
Licensed Psychologist & Owner
The Relationship Institute/El Instituto Relacional, Chicago, IL
01.2016 - 03.2025
Licensed Psychologist
Centro Castillo for Personal and Family Wellbeing, Chicago, IL
07.2013 - 03.2015
Post-Doctoral Intern
Pierce Elementary School, Chicago, IL
09.2011 - 04.2013
Psychology Resident
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago, IL
07.2006 - 08.2007
Doctoral Practicum Student
University of Wisconsin – Madison, WI, Counseling and Consultation Services, Madison, WI
08.2004 - 02.2005
Supervision Extern
Counseling Psychology Program
01.2004 - 05.2004
Doctoral Practicum Student
Dane County Mental Health Center, Madison, WI
09.2003 - 05.2004
Doctoral Practicum Student Intern
Dane County Mental Health Center, Madison, WI
09.2002 - 07.2006
M.A. - Community Counseling
Loyola University – Chicago
B.S. - Psychology; minor: Spanish Literature
Loyola University – Chicago
Ph.D. - Counseling Psychology
University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW-Madison)