About

I am glad you are looking.

Deciding to start therapy—or to start again with someone new—takes something. Whatever brought you here, I want the first step to feel manageable.

Portrait of Vanessa Hernandez, LMSW.
Vanessa Hernandez, LMSW.

How I came to this work

Before becoming a therapist, I spent seven years at Boston Consulting Group, moving from summer intern to project leader. I was good at it. I also watched capable people—including myself—treat exhaustion as a scheduling problem. What kept pulling at me was the part no strategy deck addressed: what people carried, what they could not say, and how much of it went unexamined.

What it is like to work together

My style is warm, engaged, and gently challenging. You will not get a blank screen: I respond, I tell you what I notice, and I am willing to ask the question you may have been avoiding. We can move between practical support and slower exploration as the work requires.

Identity, culture, and context

Culture, race, gender, sexuality, family history, work, and the systems around us shape how we experience ourselves and our relationships. None of that is background information. It belongs in the room, approached with curiosity, humility, and care.

Education & credentials

Training in service of the relationship.

  • Master of Social Work, New York University
  • BA in Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
  • Licensed Master Social Worker, New York
  • Sessions available in English and Spanish

A first step

A short conversation can help us see if it feels like a fit.

Fifteen minutes, no cost and no obligation. If someone else would be the better fit, I will say so.

Schedule a free consultation