I Support the Latinx Community Through Trauma-Responsive, Queer-Affirming, Culturally-Attuned Mental Healthcare
Learn About Me and How I Can Help
Dario Zamorano, MA/SW
Bilingual Psychotherapist Intern
Hello and welcome! My name is Dario Zamorano (he/him/él), and I am a Bilingual Psychotherapist Intern at Latinx Talk Therapy. As a descendant of Mexican immigrant parents and a person who identifies as queer, first-generation, and Latinx/e therapist-in-training, my intersecting identities and experiences profoundly shape my approach to navigating the world and engaging with theories and practices related to mental health and well-being. I lead a life as a person of color within a culture characterized by white supremacy and racial capitalism, allowing me to understand the experience of operating at the urgency dictated by the weight of racism, cis-heteronormativity, ableism, sexism, sizeism, xenophobia, and other forms of oppression. These forces infiltrate our essence, embed themselves in our nervous systems, and propel our minds into a state of chronic survival and scarcity. This leaves little room for rest, restoration, and instead fosters a habit of neglecting our needs, agency, and joy in order to merely make ends meet, without fully embracing a life of fulfillment. If this resonates with you, you may recognize moments of depletion or dysregulation after (re)encountering or (re)experiencing past ruptures, violence, betrayals, disregard, and the untended wounds they leave behind. You might sense an inclination to erase or dismiss these feelings as you redirect your focus to your present reaction, as if these emotions have no place here. It’s as if these emotions are signaling that they either represent your trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, chronic illness, relationship struggles, and life transitions OR it’s just you (and only you) that can coexist here, though not all at once. Consequently, the body and the mind no longer feel like a home. This painful reality is evident in our lives. Addressing this forms the foundation of my healing work.
Guided by anti-oppressive, trauma-responsive, culturally-attuned, and queer-affirming frameworks, I ensure that the evidence-based behavioral modalities I draw from—such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)—provide structure to our sessions and shape our therapy space as a platform for individual and collective liberation. I strongly believe in fostering curiosity that leads us to a place of compassion as we deepen our understanding of one another and your unique navigation of the world. In practice, this involves gently exploring and analyzing patterns of chronic discomfort, distress, and disruption that have emerged in your life, and have strained your capacity to connect meaningfully with yourself, with others in your community, and with the embodied awareness that guides you to authentically respond to oppressive systems and structures in your environment that cause you harm.
In embracing your authentic self, my commitment to you is to stand beside you, integrating my professional and personal experiences to engage with you in a manner that profoundly cultivates openness, sparks critical self-reflection, and encourages deliberate ownership of your journey of change. You deserve care in all its dimensions, and even more, and I am dedicated to creating a healing and liberating space with you where you can safely explore all aspects of yourself—your identities, values, wisdom, and the ways your mind and body rely on certain rituals or resources to regulate, connect, and reason—while embarking on this delicate journey homeward.
- I meet with clients in person and virtually.
You Don’t Have to Face Your Alone, I Am Here to Help
In the United States, mental healthcare systems, policies, and practices have contributed to the creation of conditions that have historically excluded, marginalized, and disinvested Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (QTBIPOC) communities. The resulting culture of care has led to systemic disparities in access, affordability, and availability of mental health resources. It’s understandable that our community might feel skeptical about seeking care within a predominantly white industry. My decision to become a therapist is rooted in a desire to challenge and dismantle harmful narratives, binaries, and expectations that hinder your ability to believe in your capacity for healing.
My journey in this field began in 2020 as a Mental Health Worker at Heartland Alliance Health, working in a supportive housing program. There, I collaborated with a treatment team to provide case management, resource navigation, and community and clinical support services to individuals with histories of serious mental health conditions, substance use, and chronic homelessness. A year later, in 2021, I transitioned from community mental health to mental healthcare administration as a Patient Care Coordinator at Compass Health Center. In this role, I partnered with providers and patient advocates during intake processes to compile assessment charts for prospective clients in need of treatment within the center’s intensive outpatient (IOP) and partial hospitalization programs (PHP). By 2022, I had shifted towards more direct clinical practice as a Group Therapist Intern within Compass Health Center’s Adult Mood & Anxiety Programs. Here, I co-facilitated skills-based and process-based group sessions for adults grappling with depression, anxiety, OCD, and trauma symptoms impacting their daily lives. Presently, I serve as a Care Coach at Charlie Health’s Adolescent & Young Adult Virtual IOPs, engaging primarily with young adult clients facing high-acuity mental health challenges. During their group sessions, I provide contextually-responsive crisis intervention as needed.
Through my experiences working with individuals, relationships, and families of diverse marginalized identities, I’ve come to understand that the care you extend to yourself can generate transformative shifts within the collectives we all inhabit. In our sessions together, I’ll encourage you to explore expansiveness, flexibility, and gentleness. My aim is to fully embrace my humanity alongside you, creating an environment conducive to holding and nurturing your healing journey. Whether it involves developing skills to attune to present-moment emotions and thoughts, dismantling unhelpful patterns and value systems, or navigating new relationships and contexts, I’ll be there with you—providing space, establishing connection, and facilitating mindful progress.
Get to Know A Little Bit More About Me
I was born and raised in a charming brick-laden bungalow nestled within the Northwest corridors of Chicago, precisely between Belmont Cragin and Hermosa, surrounded by a vibrant community of primarily Latinx/e families and households.
In 2018, I earned my Associate’s degree in General Psychology from Harold Washington College, City College of Chicago. Following that, I transferred to the University of Illinois at Chicago to pursue my Bachelor’s degree in Applied Psychology, with a minor in Sociology, which I completed in 2020. At present, I am in the final year of my Master’s program in Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration, and I am undergoing intensive clinical training in trauma-responsive social work at the University of Chicago. I am on track to become licensed as a social worker upon graduation.
Beyond the therapy room, I prioritize self-care by carving out both space and time for activities that rejuvenate my emotional well-being and invite joy. This might involve deliberately scheduling breaks from the demands of graduate school and work to rest and recharge. Alternatively, it could manifest in my explorations of cozy coffee shops, visits to thrift stores, leisurely strolls through downtown, spontaneous visits to weekend farmer’s markets, or my perusal of local bookstores (with City Lit Books at Logan Square being my personal favorite).
My Specialties
My central focus centers on providing therapeutic support to BIPOC, Latinx/e, and LGBTQIA+ young adults, adults, and individuals in diverse relational structures (poly/non-monogamous) who are seeking to navigate through the complexities of trauma, mood and anxiety challenges, minority stress, gender identity and sexuality, life transitions, academic exploration, and burnout.
I am mindful of the boundaries inherent in being a therapist-in-training. I am dedicated to my continuous growth, which involves regular clinical supervision and consultation with my team. I also prioritize staying attuned to your feedback as we work together, ensuring that your care aligns with your preferences and needs. I find inspiration in the insights of thought leaders within the realms of sex therapy, pleasure activism, healing justice, somatic abolitionism, and decolonizing movements. I believe their contributions foster vital conversations that enrich our understanding of mental health and overall well-being.
If any of what I’ve shared resonates with you, I extend an invitation to reach out and explore the possibilities of embarking on a transformative journey together. Your process is unique, and I look forward to accompanying you on your path of growth and healing.