Dino M Vicencio

Hi! I’m Dino Vicencio. I work with adults feeling stuck in old patterns: overthinking, shutting down, people-pleasing, harsh self-criticism, and the sense that life keeps repeating the same painful script with different actors.

My style is warm, curious, grounded, and reflective. I do not believe therapy should feel like someone handing you a worksheet and pretending the problem is solved. Skills can be useful, but real change often requires looking deeper: at the relationships, family patterns, losses, defenses, beliefs, and survival strategies that may have served us well during our formative years but are now haunting us and holding us back.

I take a depth-oriented, integrative approach grounded in attachment theory, relational psychodynamic therapy, and mentalization-based treatment, with habit-building and behavioral strategies when helpful. In plain English: we work to understand what is happening underneath the surface, while also helping you function better in your actual life.

I also have a background in sociology and carefully consider how behavior that may be viewed as “pathological” can often be better understood as an adaptive, rational response to the systemic pressures people deal with every day. In other words, I pay attention not only to what happens inside a person, but also to the families, relationships, workplaces, cultures, and systems that surround them.

I’m especially passionate in working with adults navigating trauma, anxiety, grief, life transitions, identity questions, relationship patterns, work stress, emotional shutdown, and the lingering effects of growing up in environments where they had to adapt, perform, hide, fight, or become “fine” before they were actually okay.

In therapy with me, you can expect a space that is thoughtful, honest, and collaborative. I will listen carefully, but I will also help you notice patterns, make connections, and think more deeply about what keeps getting in the way. The goal is not to become a perfect person. That sounds exhausting and probably suspicious. The goal is to understand yourself more clearly, relate to others more honestly, and build a life that feels less driven by old wounds and more connected to who you actually are.

I am a Research Assistant at the Trauma Risk and Resilience Lab at Pepperdine University, where I support mixed-methods research on historical and intergenerational trauma in Jewish and Native American communities.

Prior to becoming a therapist, I was a Personal Trainer, which was essentially, it’s own kind of therapy, through my own existential life transition, and I took it upon myself to follow my passion and shift careers. 

I provide therapy in English, Spanish and Portuguese.