About Us
We specialize in treating trauma. If you have suffered from trauma you may be suffering from PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Cottonwood Counseling, LLC provides counseling services to adults, children, adolescents, and families. Our mission is to provide quality outpatient mental health services with integrity, compassion, kindness, and connection. Our goal is to combine our knowledge and expertise to provide the best care possible to the community.
Our Clinicians are trained in several modalities such as EMDR, CBT and DBT. We also provide Play Therapy and Sand Tray Therapy for children and adolescents.
Meet The Team
Yvonne Williams Casaus
Owner, Mental Health Clinician, LPCC, RPT
Yvonne is a Mom, Wife, Author, Speaker, Counselor, and the founder of Cottonwood Counseling. She is an independently licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LPCC) and a Registered Play Therapist (RPT). She has been helping adults, children, adolescents, and families for over 18 years. She provided services in her private practice for 7 years. Upon seeing the growing demand for mental health services, she felt the need to open a group practice in order to better serve her community. She is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy and Sand Tray Therapy. She specializes in treating Trauma, PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety. With a degree in Mechanical Engineering, she has been a Satellite Engineer, a Mission Planner, and has even worked for NASA. As the author of the Amazon Best-Seller A DROP OF WATER: A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, she was inspired to share from her knowledge as a Therapist and Suicide Loss Survivor to help others find encouragement and inspiration through loss. Her passion and the mission of Cottonwood Counseling is to provide knowledgeable, nurturing, and effective treatment to the community.
Phu Barney
Practice Manager
Phu Barney, the Practice Manager for Cottonwood Counseling has over 25 years of management experience, 15 of which have been in the mental health field. Her education includes a B.S. in Business Management and Human Resources. As a HIPAA security officer, she manages the information security policies, procedures, and technical systems of Cottonwood Counseling. Along with her education she has an in-depth knowledge of most aspects of a Mental Health practice including medical billing, insurances, credentialing, HR, but most importantly, patient care. She and her husband have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Her hobby is her family and taking care of patients. Understanding and supporting her patients is her number one priority.
Tiffany Atencio
Mental Health Clinician, LCSW
Aiden Davis
Director, Transgender Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program/Mental Health Clinician, LCSW
Marlene Espinoza Barboza
Mental Health Clinician, LPCC
Delfinia Fuentes
Mental Health Clinician, LPCC
C. Denise Gauna-Wigelsworth
Mental Health Clinician, LPCC
Denise is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), having completed her degrees at the University of New Mexico and Webster University. She has worked in therapeutic foster care, group homes for children and adolescents, and mental health and addiction services for adults and adolescents. Denise has also worked in behavioral therapy for autism spectrum and intellectual and developmental disorders. Her current focus is in trauma, mood disorders, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and autism spectrum disorder. She specializes in providing therapy to children, adolescents, families and adults while working to help clients develop their own strengths and effective ways of coping with life’s challenges. Denise is well-versed in the particular nuances and challenges of the LGBTQ community and multiple cultural backgrounds.
Diane Lacen
Mental Health Clinician, LMHC
Diane received her Master’s Degree in Counseling from New Mexico Highlands University and her PhD inCounselor Education from the University of New Mexico. She has experience both in the teaching andpractice of counseling. Diane has counseled adolescents and adults in outpatient settings and has worked with depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and loss, addiction, stress management, communication,and self-esteem issues. She is a humanistic counselor who values the therapeutic relationship and the healing and growth that can come from this. Diane believes that all clients have value and deserve to lead more effective lives. She tailors therapy to the needs of the client whether this involves Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy, Existential Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, or other types of therapy. Diane loves to spend time with her children, grandchildren, and dog. She loves movies, plays, and yoga.
Jamie Peterson
Mental Health Clinician, LCSW
Jamie is currently trained in utilizing trauma focused and evidence-based treatment modalities such as CBT, EMDR, Sand Tray Therapy, Play Therapy and Theraplay. In 2009 she graduated with her MA in Social Work with an emphasis in Clinical therapy. She began working at the San Juan County Detention Center for Correctional Health Management in Farmington, NM where she was born and raised. As an Inmate Mental Health Professional, she completed mental health evaluations and acted as a client advocate in order to coordinate services and resolve emergency crisis situations. She helped clients deal with addictions, substance abuse, family therapy, parenting, marital problems, suicide, stress management, problems with self-esteem, and issues associated with legal status and mental and emotional health. She also worked at Child Haven as a Trauma Therapist and Treatment Foster Care Therapist. She provided outpatient therapy and support services to children, youth and their families experiencing or at risk of the following: physical, mental or behavioral health problems; runaway or homeless youth; substance abuse; physical abuse, sexual abuse, trauma and neglect. Her goal is to help as many people as she can live their “Best Life”. She is not a stranger to life’s pain, hardships and circumstances and that is why she is passionate about what she does.
Franklin R. Smith
Mental Health Clinician, LMFT
Esperansa Wells
Mental Health Clinician, LPCC
Ah Lin "Joan" Wong
Mental Health Clinician, LPCC
Joan is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC). She graduated from Southwestern
Theological Seminary in Texas in 2005, with dual MA degrees in Marriage and Family Counseling and Christian Education. Her experiences include counseling and interpreting in private practices, non-profit agencies, corrections facilities, and universities. She serves adolescents and adults, with issues related to depression, anxiety, communication, parenting, relationship conflict, family/marital relationships, cultural adaptation, faith, grief and loss, self-esteem, conflict resolution, anger management, domestic violence, smoking cessation, and problem gambling. Life is never static, so matches her counseling approaches. She believes in ‘change through renewal of mind,’ via eclectic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,Solution-focused therapy, and Brief therapy. She provides Christian counseling when requested. Her clients may also request counseling in English, Mandarin, or Cantonese. She hopes her service inspires and teaches people to make positive life-oriented choices, and helps to lead people to achieve a quality physical, emotional, and spiritual life.
Her hobbies are cooking, gardening, and enjoying tea time. She says it is amazing watching her plants grow. That translates to cherishing watching her clients grow through life challenges.
Her motto: “Cheering with you when the sun shines. Walking with you when it rains.”
Erica Pena
Medical Billing Specialist
Stephanie D. McCullough
Mental Health Clinician Intern
Stephanie is a native New Mexican who is currently working towards her Masters Degree in Art Therapy and Counseling. She is attending Southwestern College in Santa Fe, where she will graduate from in 2024. She is currently a Licensed Substance Abuse Associate, she intends to become a LADAC, and feels devoted to working within the realm of addiction, as she identifies as is in recovery herself. She has a deep passion for art, specifically photography, which was her focus while attaining her Bachelors in Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico. She enjoys bringing art into the healing process and feels called to encourage others to explore their creativity within the therapeutic environment. Stephanie is a firm believer that there are many approaches beyond typical talk therapy which can guide us in healing our past trauma and reaching our personal therapeutic goals. She is interested in working with others seeking the necessary knowledge and skills to improve their overall quality of life. When she is not working, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter and dog, watching sports (hockey, football, and MMA), attending local community events, spending time outside (hiking, bike riding, running), eating delicious local food, working on DIY projects at home, traveling, and exploring/enjoying all that is good here in our beautiful state of New Mexico.
We’re Always Looking for Dedicated, Compassionate Professionals to Join our Team. Contact us today if you would like more information.
About
Cottonwood Counseling, LLC provides counseling services to adults, adolescents, children and families. We specialize in treating trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and grief.
LGBTQIA+ friendly
Contact
6330 Riverside Plaza Lane NW
Suite 260, ABQ, NM 87120
PH: 505-226-2839
Fax: 505-295-2559
E: cottonwoodcounselingabq@gmail.com
Se Habla Espanol
Insurance
We accept Commercial insurance as well as Medicaid. We also accept clients that would like to self pay.