Annette Rios-Barrera, LCSW
Narrative-informed LCSW focused on relationships and change
Details
| Name | Annette Rios-Barrera |
|---|---|
| Credentials | LCSW |
| Based in | Texas |
| Licensed in | Texas |
| Session format | Online |
| Languages | English, Spanish |
| Years in practice | 23 |
About Annette
Annette Rios-Barrera is a licensed clinical social worker practicing in Texas with 23 years of experience. She uses a narrative-informed approach and meets people where they are, helping them tell and reshape the stories that shape their lives. She works with people facing anxiety, depression, grief, and major life changes.
She also supports those dealing with relationship strain, intimacy concerns, and identity questions. Annette pays attention to how past events and attachment patterns influence current choices and feelings.
Background and approach
Her style is direct but warm. Sessions focus on clear goals and practical steps. She draws from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Attachment-Based ideas to help people notice thoughts, make values-based choices, and repair connections.
Annette brings lived experience with LGBTQ concerns and with non-traditional relationship structures into the work in a respectful way. She also supports people navigating adoption or foster care history, caregiving stress, chronic illness, body-image concerns, and issues related to aging. She offers services in English and Spanish and accepts international clients.
Session formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Getting started involves completing a short matching questionnaire and scheduling according to therapist availability. Her practice aims to pair honest conversation with practical tools.
Clients can expect collaboration on values, skills to manage stress, and attention to the stories that guide daily life.
What this therapist works with
Her listing names LGBT, Relationship issues, Family conflicts among the things Annette works with, alongside the areas below.
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Stress, Anxiety
- Career difficulties
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches listed
- Narrative Therapy: Named in her listing among her approaches.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Attachment-Based Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Client-Centered Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT): Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Existential Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Gottman Method: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Jungian Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Mindfulness Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Motivational Interviewing: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Solution-Focused Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Somatic Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Trauma-Focused Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Internal Family Systems: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Systemic Therapy: Listed by Annette among the ways she works.
- Training stated: This directory copies the approaches a therapist names and does not check training records. Ask Annette directly how much of the work is narrative and what a session usually looks like.
Narrative Therapy in this listing
Narrative Therapy appears in this therapist's own list of approaches. That tells you it is part of how she works. It does not tell you how much of a session it shapes, and this directory does not check or rate training.
If a narrative approach is what you are looking for, it is worth asking Annette directly how she uses it and what a session usually looks like.
Online session options
How narrative and values work online
Annette combines Narrative ideas with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Attachment-Based thinking to guide online work. Narrative Therapy looks at the stories people tell about their lives and helps them notice alternative plots and choices. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on what matters most to a person and teaches skills to act on those values even when difficult thoughts or feelings appear. Attachment-Based approaches attend to how early relationships shape current connection patterns and help people practice new ways of relating.Finding the best approach is part of the process. Annette will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most helpful. Together they decide which methods to use and adapt them as progress is made, so the work stays practical and relevant.
Online sessions offer flexibility and access. Video calls let for face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to use video. Live chat and text-based messaging make shorter check-ins or ongoing support possible between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and different time zones while keeping the focus on meaningful change.
Common questions about this listing
What kinds of concerns does this therapist address?
She helps people with anxiety, depression, grief, and coping with life changes. Relationship and intimacy issues, LGBTQ concerns, and career stress are also within her focus.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her approach is collaborative and straightforward. She combines storytelling work with practical techniques to help people shift unhelpful patterns.
What is her professional background?
She has 23 years of clinical experience and works from a trauma-informed, relational perspective. That experience informs how she supports attachment and identity concerns.
What credentials and where is she based?
She is an LCSW - licensed clinical social worker - and practices out of Texas.
Can I work with her in my language or from another country?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish. She accepts international clients.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Different formats can be used depending on the need or convenience.
How is cost handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability. Sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What do I do to begin working with her?
Use the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions based on therapist availability.
Contacting this therapist
Sessions with Annette are arranged through our partner platform. It asks a few questions about what you are looking for, then shows you the therapists available to you, including Annette where she has space. Ask about fees, and whether she holds a licence or registration where you live.
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