About Ricardo
Ricardo Ortega uses a client-centered approach to help people feel heard and understood. He is a licensed mental health counselor with 15 years of experience based in New York. He speaks English and Spanish and aims to make first steps toward change feel manageable.
He focuses on common concerns like stress and anxiety, depression, grief, and self-esteem. He also helps with parenting challenges, relationship strain, and addiction-related issues. LGBT-related concerns and coaching for life or career shifts are part of his work too.
How Ricardo works
Ricardo blends client-centered listening with practical techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy. He also draws on emotionally-focused ideas to address relationship patterns and on existential perspectives when people wrestle with life meaning and choices. Sessions are shaped to the person rather than following one fixed method.
His background includes work across diverse situations such as aging and geriatric issues, hospice and end-of-life counseling, immigration and multicultural concerns, and first responder and veteran issues. He has experience with trauma-related areas like sexual assault and coping after disasters. Ricardo describes therapy as a collaborative process.
He listens to what matters most, then helps set clear, realistic steps toward the goals people name. He adapts pace and tools to each person’s needs and language preference.
Ricardo lists 4 ways of working on the entry:
What Ricardo works with
The areas below are the ones Ricardo selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Addictions
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- First responder issues
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Multicultural concerns
- Parenting issues
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LMHC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 15 |
| Languages | English, Spanish |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | New York |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Therapeutic approaches that translate online
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely and following the person’s lead. It helps people feel understood and clarifies what they want to change or improve. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect and offers practical steps to reduce anxiety, depression, or stress in day-to-day life.Finding the right approach is a shared process. The therapist will work together with each person to choose which methods to try based on their goals, concerns, and what feels comfortable. Plans can shift over time as progress is made and priorities change.
Online sessions can be scheduled as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video is useful for longer conversations and visual cues, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and chat or messaging work well for shorter check-ins or ongoing support. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to keep work moving between sessions.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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