Dr. Melissa Laracuenta-Hernandez
As a native New Yorker, raised in a Latino family, Dr. Laracuenta often straddled the two worlds of being a part of the majority American culture but also a part of her Puerto Rican culture.
Dr. Laracuenta trained as a psychologist in New York City, completing both her Master’s and Doctorate in School Clinical Child Psychology at Pace University. Dr. Laracuenta is now a licensed psychologist in New York and Connecticut.
During her training and after becoming a licensed psychologist, she sought to find her own bicultural reflection and voice in the mental health field. Instead, Dr. Laracuenta found herself in between worlds again without the professional connections and mentors that had similar world views and perspectives.
Eventually, she embraced the beauty in the resiliency, creativity, and openness to experiences that develop when one has had the opportunity to dance along the lines of differences and connect to different parts of experiences and oneself.
Dr. Laracuenta is a connector at heart! She makes people feel comfortable and nurtured, quickly identifying their strengths and challenges. She creates real-life transformational and liberating results using unconventional therapeutical approaches.
Dr. Laracuenta believes your life is more joyful with the support of a dedicated and genuinely caring therapist. This is not a one-size-fits-all job; it takes into account your story and environment. And, therapy doesn’t stop when your weekly session ends. You explore yourself by taking action with simple and effective everyday exercises. The connection is key! We are you, we see you, we get you, we care.