Cherina Medina, LCSW, CSW

Cherina Medina is a trauma-informed Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and CSW with 15 years of experience working across educational settings and clinical environments. They have supported at-risk youth, veterans, and people with disabilities, and bring deep expertise in special education, individualized education plans - commonly called IEPs - and disability-related counseling services. Cherina began their work focused on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) for both children and adults and continues to offer extensive psychoeducation, practical coping strategies, and skills training for attention and executive function challenges.

Cherina primarily works with adolescents and adults and aims for a balanced caseload that includes young people aged 13 to 19 alongside adult clients, noting that telehealth is not their preferred medium for children younger than that due to the need for in-person play-based interventions. They are trained in trauma-informed care and in sexual assault response, and they combines clinical knowledge with an approachable sense of humor to make sessions both grounded and human. A personal anecdote reflects this blend of seriousness and levity - Cherina has also served as a rodeo clown.

Cherina is of Native American heritage - Apache and Navajo/N'de Diné - and, when clients are open to it, may integrate traditions of mindfulness, prayer, meditation, or instructive storytelling into therapeutic work. As a licensed clinician, Cherina supports clients who are ready to address fears, perceived obstacles, and patterns that interfere with wellbeing, offering a collaborative, story-centered approach that honors each person’s pace and goals.

Client-Centered and Cognitive Behavioral Care Online

Client-Centered Therapy is rooted in listening, empathy, and respect for each person's experience. Cherina Medina uses this approach to create a space where clients' perspectives guide the work, helping individuals explore values, build self-awareness, and strengthen their capacity to make choices that align with their goals. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying patterns of thinking and behavior that maintain distress and teaching practical strategies to shift those patterns. This method is well suited to managing anxiety, depression, stress, and the daily challenges of ADHD.

Choosing the right therapeutic approach is part of the process, and Cherina will collaborate with each client to determine which methods best fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That collaborative process includes experimenting with techniques, checking in about what helps, and adapting the plan as progress unfolds.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect - video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging - which can make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives, access care from different locations within Colorado, and maintain continuity when circumstances change. These options support consistent, accessible work with licensed professionals while allowing clients and therapists to find the format that feels most effective for their therapeutic goals.