Yvette Rico’s work as a psychologist centers adults grappling with stressors around life transitions, self-esteem, identity, relationships, and familial dynamics. Working with Latinos, BIPOC, and queer folks is close to her heart.

Dr. Yvette sees the value of healing in relationship and looking to what is happening externally in order to gain empathy for what is happening within. Therapy with her involves being curious together, holding tenderness for all the parts that folks bring in (even the pieces they’re frustrated with), and paying attention to people’s strengths and gifts. And importantly, it involves moments of laughter and lightness.

Her work in therapy has historically involved supporting people in determining what they want to hold onto from what they were taught and what isn’t serving them anymore. That often means zooming in on present emotions and zooming out to look at how the past is connected to the present, the impact of context, patient values, and what people want for themselves. In her work, she is grounded in the sociopolitical contexts that people are embedded in and how those contexts impact individual and collective well-being, a tenet of Liberation Psychology.

Yvette offers therapy in both English and Spanish. Her past research studied burnout, stress, and therapy seeking in the general population and specifically among psychology graduate students.

Dr. Yvette Rico earned her doctorate from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium. She completed her predoctoral internship at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio (UT Health). She worked as the Latino-Focused Psychologist at the University of San Francisco’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), providing culturally sensitive care to the Latino population at USF. Dr. Yvette teaches at San Francisco State University within the Latino Studies Department (Latino Family Narratives and Latino Community Mental Health).