Annette Rios-Barrera , LCSW

Annette Rios-Barrera is a licensed clinical social worker in Texas with 23 years of experience. She uses a trauma-informed, relational approach and welcomes people from diverse backgrounds, including those who identify as LGBT. Her pronouns are she/her and she aims to make therapy feel straightforward and human.

Annette focuses on anxiety, depression, grief, and the stresses of life change. She also helps people with intimacy concerns, relationship strain, career stress, and identity exploration. Sessions often include attention to attachment issues and patterns that repeat in relationships.

Her style is collaborative and paced to fit each person. She listens for what matters most, then offers tools that can be practiced between sessions. That can mean working on thoughts and behaviors, building emotion regulation skills, or clarifying values for decision making.

Annette brings experience with a wide range of concerns such as abandonment, adoption and foster care questions, body image, caregiver stress, chronic illness and pain, and issues related to kink and alternative sex culture. She adapts the work to match a client’s goals and comfort level.

She offers care in English and Spanish and accepts international clients. People who want a thoughtful, down-to-earth therapist who mixes practical strategies with warmth may find her approach helpful.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Annette often uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which focuses on clarifying values and taking concrete steps toward them even when difficult thoughts or feelings show up. ACT can help with anxiety, depression, and life changes by turning values into action.

She also draws on Attachment-Based Therapy to look at how early and current relationship patterns affect how people relate now. This approach helps when intimacy, trust, or repeated relationship patterns are causing distress.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist and client will talk about goals, try techniques that fit the person’s preferences, and adjust the plan as needed. That back-and-forth helps pick strategies that feel useful and realistic.

Online therapy offers flexibility across several formats. Video calls work well for in-depth work and visual connection. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a low-key check-in is needed. Live chat or text-based messaging can fit quick updates, brief coping support, or people who prefer writing over speaking. These options make it easier to schedule around work, caregiving, or travel while keeping the therapeutic focus on the client’s needs and goals.