LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER
Ana Mena
Spanish-Speaking LGBTQ+ & Immigrant Therapist in Rhode Island
Pronouns: She/Her
Licensure: LCSW
Location: Rhode Island
Languages: Spanish & English
Accepting New Clients: Yes
Sliding Scale: Yes
Insurance: Aetna, BCBS, Medicaid, NHP, Tufts, United Student Health Resources, & UHC
About Ana
I’m a compassionate and dedicated therapist who brings a personal lens to my work. I immigrated to New York City from the Dominican Republic as a teenager, and that experience shaped my deep understanding of resilience, transition, and identity. It taught me how powerful it can be to feel seen and supported, especially when navigating unfamiliar systems and environments.
My work is rooted in activism and care. I’m passionate about supporting those who face discrimination due to race, gender, sexuality, immigration status, or ability. I especially enjoy working with LGBTQ+ folks, immigrants, women, and refugees, and I hold space with deep respect for each person’s unique experience.
Clinically, I draw from a range of approaches including psychodynamic, talk therapy, solution-focused work, and CBT. My style is relational and attachment-based, with an emphasis on creating a safe and affirming space where you feel heard, understood, and empowered.
Outside of therapy, I love spending time with my family and creating art. I often turn to crafting and repurposing as a way to ground myself during times of stress or uncertainty. I believe creativity can be a powerful form of self-regulation and healing.
Specialties
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Mindfulness techniques
Areas of Focus
I support clients in developing healthier responses to stress, building skills for emotional regulation, and nurturing personal growth.
Modalities
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
CBT
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Mindfulness practices
Narrative therapy approaches
Talk therapy
Trauma-informed care techniques
Lived Identity
and Experience
Bilingual in Spanish and English
Dominican immigrant
Adds a rich layer of cultural knowledge within the Hispanic/Latino community.
Why I Do This Work
“I do this work because I’ve seen how powerful healing can be when it’s grounded in culture, language, and lived experience. I’m passionate about creating spaces where people feel seen not just as individuals, but in the full context of their identities, whether that includes migration, queerness, systemic harm, or intergenerational wounds.”
- Ana Mena 
My Approach in Practice
In our sessions, I aim to create a space where you feel respected, seen, and supported as your full self. My approach is relational, grounded in deep listening, cultural humility, and a commitment to affirming your lived experience. I may draw from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-focused work, or psychodynamic frameworks to help us explore the patterns that shape how you move through the world - always centering your insight and autonomy.
Together, we will name what you are carrying, examine how systems and relationships have impacted your well-being, and gently move toward clarity, healing, and change. Sometimes that may mean processing difficult emotions, other times it might mean grounding through body awareness or noticing what brings joy and strength. I believe therapy is a collaborative process. My goal is to walk alongside you with care and consistency, honoring your pace and inner wisdom at every step.
What Clients Often Come to Me For
Clients often come to me when they are:
Navigating the complexities of identity
Especially at the intersections of culture, migration, gender, and sexuality.
Feeling weighed down by intergenerational trauma,
Systemic oppression, or the chronic stress of marginalization, and looking for a space where their experiences are honored, not pathologized.
Adjusting to major life transitions
Immigration, loss, relationship shifts, or becoming a caregiver, and wanting to feel more grounded through change.
Living with anxiety, depression, or chronic stress
Seeking practical tools to reconnect with themselves and feel more emotionally-regulated.
Struggling with self-criticism, shame, or disconnection from their bodies
Hoping to build a more compassionate inner relationship.
A steady and human space
No matter what brings you here, I approach our work with warmth, humility, and care. My role is not to fix or diagnose, but to accompany you in exploring what healing, agency, and self-acceptance can look like in your life.