Cristina Maria Fort Garcés, LCAT + 3
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Message from Cristina Maria
There’s a tyrant in your head, and it never shuts up. No matter how hard you try to out-perform, out-grow, or out-heal it, the shame just shapeshifts. You’re smart, self-aware, maybe even the go-to person in your world—but inside, it’s loud. You’re tired of white-knuckling your way through the day. The “shoulds” are screaming. You want peace, but you don’t trust you’ve earned it. You’ve aged, but haven’t really been able to grow. Here’s the truth: what you’ve been calling brokenness might just be wisdom in disguise. I offer sacred, gritty, body-based therapy for deep-feeling humans—those ready to face what’s buried and reclaim what’s real. Together, we enter the muck—the shame, the self-loathing, the freeze, the perfectionism—and begin to listen. This is slow, powerful work that moves through the body, not around it. With 17+ years of experience, I blend somatic therapy, Gestalt, parts work, and creative interventions to help you come back to your breath, your body, and your truth. This is therapy for the cycle-breakers, the helpers, the ones who hold so much for others but feel lost in their own story. My clients tend to be women, queer and trans folks, Latinx professionals, and spiritually curious humans in helping fields—people who feel too much and not enough all at once. We work on turning down the inner tyrant and turning up the fierce, grounded support within. I’m a Certified Gestalt and Developmental Somatic Psychotherapist, a Hakomi practitioner, and a Licensed Expressive Arts Therapist with 17+ years of experience offering therapy. I offer 45-minute virtual sessions to adults across New York State. I tailor every session to you—your nervous system, your past, your pace. If you’re ready to shed what isn’t yours and root into the life that is, I’d love to support you. Book your free 15-minute consultation today at Creative Now Therapy.
About Cristina Maria's practice
Weekdays Before 9am
Weekdays 9am - 5pm
$$$
Directive
Reflective
Body-based
In-person available: Yes
Virtual available: Yes
Self-Esteem
Career-Related Stress
Anxiety
Depression
Trauma
Gender Identity
Life Transitions
Social Justice
Out of network providers
NY
Why state matters
Get to Know Cristina Maria
"I can't say enough good things about the therapist you matched me with earlier this year, Cris. She is amazing and therapy has truly changed my life for the better! Thank you for providing this service."
Christine, Client
"Cris’s attunement is just as palpable with clients as her interest in supporting growth. Cris strongly believes in the work she’s doing and creates space for clients to be themselves and to find new ways to express themselves."
Marissa, Colleague
Where did you work before going into private practice?
• Private Practice, Creative Now Therapy & Coaching: Clinical Director and Psychotherapist, Online & the Hudson Valley, NY. 2016 - Present • Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy Clinic: Individual Gestalt psychotherapy to adults. NY, NY. 2013 - 2016. • Kings County Hospital, Adult and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Care: I provided individual psychotherapy, group art therapy, treatment, and safety planning to adolescents and adults in mental health crisis. East Flatbush, NY. 2012-2019. • New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center, Outpatient Care: I provided individual psychotherapy sessions and case management in Spanish and English to children, adolescents, adults, and families. 2011-2012. • HeartShare, Preventive Services: I worked as a case planner and creative arts therapist for Spanish-speaking families with children at risk of foster care placement to aid them in navigating the different social systems impacting their lives. 2010-2012. • SVA Counseling Team, Creative Arts Therapy Department, Individual Creative Arts Therapy sessions for undergraduate students at SVA. NY, NY. 2009-2010. • St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, The Child and Family Institute, Individual Creative Arts Therapy sessions for Children (4 - 12 yrs) and Family Creative Arts Therapy sessions. NY, NY. 2009 - 2010. • Interfaith Hospital Continuing Day Treatment Center, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Group Co-Leader and individual Creative Arts Therapy, partial hospitalization setting, sessions for Adults with Major Mental Health Experiences. Brooklyn, NY. 2008 - 2009.
What degrees do you have and what techniques are you trained in?
• Hakomi Somatic Practitioner | Hakomi Institute. 2-year Post Graduate Psychotherapy Training. North East, US. 2024. • Certified Professional Coach | Year-long Coaching Training, Leadership That Works, NY, NY. 2020. • Certified Developmental Somatic Psychotherapist | The Center For Somatic Studies, 4-year Post Graduate Psychotherapy Training. NY, NY. 2019. • Certified Gestalt Psychotherapist | Gestalt Associates For Psychotherapy, 4-year Clinical Fellowship Post Graduate Psychotherapy Training. NY, NY. 2016. • Board Certified & Lisenced Creative Arts Therapist, #001500 | The Americal Art Therapy Association, US. Master's in Creative Arts Therapy at SVA. 2010. Additional Therapy and Coaching Training: • Psychotherapy & Spirituality Institute, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Clinicians, MBSR Training, Online. 2022. • Tara Mohr, Playing Big for Women, Year-long Coaching Training, Online. 2022. • Energy Medicine Coach, The Four Winds Society, 400-hour training in Andean and Q'ero Energy & Earth-based practices. Olmue, Chile. 2021. Prior to my career as a psychotherapist, I received a Bachelor’s from Tufts University (2004) and completed a commercial and studio photography program at the Hallmark Institute of Photography (2005).
Are there any philosophies or values that inform your work that I should know about?
Yes. At the heart of my work is the belief that your symptoms aren’t signs of failure—they’re intelligent responses to pain, disconnection, and survival. I believe healing isn’t about fixing what’s broken—it’s about listening to what’s been exiled, honoring what once protected you, and gently reclaiming the parts of you that are still alive and waiting. My work is guided by a deep trust in the body, the wisdom of our nervous systems, and the sacred messiness of being human. I don’t see you as a diagnosis or a problem to solve. I see you as layered, complex, and capable of transformation. I value slowness, curiosity, consent, and collaboration—and I will never push you into territory you’re not ready for. This work is both mystical and grounded. We work with what's real in the moment—breath, body, emotion, memory—and we also make space for the unseen: ancestral threads, intuition, synchronicity, soul. I show up with reverence, irreverence, and the belief that the muck is where the magic often lives.
How should I prepare for my first session with you?
There is no need to prepare anything. Therapy is an exploration of the self. Let’s get to know you just as you are. If you do want to prepare, please bring art supplies and any other healing tools you'd like to be part of therapy. I’d also love to hear about what you want to get out of therapy and your ideas about what therapy is or can be. It may also be supportive (but not necessary) to consider the following: 1. You're curiosity will be your biggest ally. 2. Staying with and reporting on your present moment experiences 3. Sharing your honest reactions to creative experiments in mindfulness, especially if you don't like how something feels or if you simply don't want to do something - often a great exploration can come from this. 4. Allowing your reactions to happen as much as you safely can 5. Some willingness to experience uncomfortable feelings
How participatory are you during sessions?
I’m highly participatory. I’m not a blank screen or someone who just nods—I’m right there with you. I track what’s happening in your body, your energy, and your words, and I offer reflections, questions, and observations that invite you deeper into your own experience. I’ll sometimes slow things down, guide you into sensation, or help you stay with something that feels hard to touch alone. That said, I follow your pace and your process. I don’t believe in pushing breakthroughs or talking over your truth. I’ll check in often to make sure the work feels collaborative, connected, and safe. My role is to walk beside you, help you hear what’s underneath, and support you in becoming more fully yourself—not to analyze from afar.