Dr. Luis G. Cruz-Ortega
Counseling Psychologist
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I provide individual counseling and psychotherapy to adults. I also offer consultation and supervision for mental health professionals and training for organizations on culturally competent healthcare. My research interests include the intersection of culture, spirituality, bereavement, and psychological adjustment. I am fully bilingual and offer services in English and/or Spanish.
In counseling, my goal is to provide a safe space where my clients and I can work collaboratively to facilitate growth. As an integrative psychotherapist, I work to identify evidence-based therapeutic models that best fit my clients' needs and goals. For example, incorporating insights and strategies from dynamic relational therapy can be effective when clients are seeking to identify, understand, and change unhelpful patterns in their relationships with themselves and others. I also often integrate acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction to assist individuals to improve their psychological flexibility, learn effective coping skills, and enhance their sense of well-being. Finally, existential-humanistic models can be helpful when clients are seeking to enhance their experience of meaning, authenticity, creativity, freedom, and responsibility in their personal life and relationships. My clientele reflects our city's diversity (e.g., different racial and ethnic backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations, and family structures). My clients' meaning-making is informed by diverse spiritual traditions and/or philosophical values and I often assist them to explore their relevance during stressful times and in their search for significance. Understanding how these identities, values, and experiences intersect in oppressive and empowering ways to inform a person's unique journey may enlighten the counseling process. I earned a doctorate (PhD) in Counseling Psychology from Andrews University (Berrien Springs, Michigan) and completed an internship and post-doctoral residency at The Ohio State University's Counseling and Consultation Service (Columbus, Ohio). I am licensed as a psychologist (LP) and supervising professional clinical counselor (LPCC-S) in Ohio. I am also registered to provide telehealth services in Florida and in states participating in the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT). Furthermore, I am credentialed by the National Register of Health Service Psychologists. I have more than 20 years of experience working at university counseling centers and private practice. Previously, I served as a senior staff psychologist at The Ohio State University's Counseling and Consultation Service and as an embedded psychologist at the OSU Moritz College of Law. I also worked as a college counselor at Andrews University and the University of Central Florida and as a psychotherapist in private practice in Orlando, FL, and Berrien Springs, MI. In addition, I have designed and taught graduate-level professional counseling courses. I am a member of the American Psychological Association, the National Latinx Psychological Association, and the Ohio Psychological Association. My practice is in Clintonville, a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. I grew up in Puerto Rico. I love visiting; I can recharge my batteries spending time in the mountains and beaches and seeing family and friends. In my free time, I enjoy road trips through scenic byways, landscape photography, watching movies, and spending time with my family. Credentials:
Publications
McCabe, B. E., Escoto, E. R., Cruz-Ortega, L. G., Munoz-Rojas, D., & Gattamorta, K. (2017). Translation and psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the College Alcohol Problems Scale. Addictive Behaviors. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.06.023 Gutierrez, D., Barden, S. M., Ali, S., & Cruz-Ortega, L. G. (2016). Perspectiva masculina: An exploration of intimate partners of Latina breast cancer survivors. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families. doi: 10.1177/1066480716648690 *Cruz-Ortega, L. G., Gutierrez, D., & Waite, D. (2015). Religious orientation and ethnic identity as predictors of religious coping among bereaved individuals. Counseling and Values, 60, 67-83. doi: 10.1002/j.2161-007X.2015.00061.x Cruz-Ortega, L. G. (November, 2007). Religious expressions in times of stress: A brief review of the psychology of religious coping and its applications in clinical settings. ACPA Commission for Counseling and Psychological Services Newsletter. Awards *Biggs-Pine Award for Outstanding Scholarly Contribution to the journal Counseling & Values (2014-2015) |
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