Hi y'all, I'm Cristina, the founder of The Real Collective. The Real Collective is, without a doubt, my passion project. It's something I've poured my heart and soul into because I wanted to create the kind of space I once craved for when I was a client myself, a space where therapy feels deeply human, grounding, and real. I built TRC with one intention: to create a place where people can stop performing, put down the pressure to have it all together, and slowly find their way back to themselves.

"Coming home to yourself" is at the heart of everything I do. I believe so many of us spend our lives becoming who we think we're supposed to be - shaped by relationships, expectations, family, culture, and survival. Therapy can be a place to gently untangle all of that and reconnect with the version of yourself that's always been there underneath.

I also wanted to build a practice where I could show up authentically as a therapist and as a human. Therapy has often been portrayed as clinical, distant, or one-sided, but that's never felt true to who I am. Beyond the letters after my name, I'm simply another person sitting across from you - curious about your story, fully present, and willing to meet you exactly where you are.

My hope is that when you enter nto this space (virtually of course), you feel like you don't have to be anyone other than yourself. Because the real, messy, uncertain, growing parts of you aren't something to fix and they're welcome here.