Guided by Earth & Spirit
About

Veronika Lee Hoover, LCSW

Bringing the mind and spirit back into the heart and the body.

I am a spiritual and somatic psychotherapist, licensed in California. I sit with women who are overwhelmed by their inner worlds and seeking a relationship with God. I help them shine light into the dark places in a space that feels safe and supported.

Veronika Lee Hoover, LCSW

How I came to this work

My family's own experience with mental health, and what therapy opened up for me personally, is what led me here. I wanted others to know that same kind of awareness and healing.

I earned my Master of Social Work at the University of Southern California and spent my first decade in traditional mental health settings. Over time I saw that talking about a problem was rarely enough. Focusing only on changing our thought patterns seemed harmful because it denied intuition. I got to know personally and through my clients that our bodies feel and remember what our minds would rather forget.

So I went looking further: into mindfulness, body-based psychotherapy, nature connection, and spirituality. For more than fifteen years now, I have been weaving those threads together with evidence-based care. Working within indigenous eastern cosmologies took me places within myself where I felt the presence and love of God that just reading and talking never could do. 

I look back at those years as the most profound and spiritually healing years for me. When people ask, I say, I took the scenic route to Christ and feeling whole. 

My approach

Ecotherapy: nature as co-therapist
Imagine believing that all of creation was here to support you. When we engage with the living world we can reconnect with the parts of ourselves that are waiting to be noticed and explored. We get to see our interconnection to the sacred world within all living things, which includes ourselves. In our online sessions, that might mean noticing the light outside your window, sitting near a tree or a plant, or taking a practice outside between sessions.
Nervous system regulation: the body remembers
We pay attention not only to what you think, but to how your body feels and holds your story. Together we learn to notice when your system is overwhelmed or shut down, and find your way back to safety. Somatic tracking, breath, and guided imagery help the nervous system settle.
Every part is welcome
Through inner parts work, we meet the parts of you that have been hidden or exiled, including grief, anger, and shadow, with love instead of shame.
Integrating the Sacred
I am a Christian and a spiritual person. When it serves you, we explore your beliefs and your relationship with God as part of your healing, never as a requirement. Though the bible is my personal reference point, you don't have to be Christian to work with me. 
Play is research
Our sessions are a space for curiosity, imagination, and trust. We set goals together, check in along the way, and imagine what life looks like on the other side.
From clients
โ€œVeronika is amazing! I was always afraid to try therapy and then I met her and she has helped me so much.โ€
โ€œVeronika Hoover provides consistent culturally attuned mental health care!โ€
Verified client reviews ยท Rula ยท Zocdoc
Training & methods

Grounded in science, open to spirit

Master of Social Work, University of Southern California. Licensed Clinical Social Worker, California LCSW 28510.

  • Somatic therapy
  • Hakomi Method
  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)
  • Ecotherapy & nature-based
  • Mindfulness-based (MBCT)
  • Acceptance & Commitment (ACT)
  • Hypnotherapy
  • Jungian
  • Energy psychology
  • Christian counseling
  • Expressive arts
  • Culturally sensitive care
Photo by Pauline ๐Ÿฆ‹๐Ÿ“ท on Unsplash
Beyond the therapy room

The cycles of life

I draw on the cycles of life: birth, growth, death, and renewal. I also run a nature-based forest school for homeschooled children, where parents join in too. Watching children learn outdoors keeps reminding me how much the earth has to teach us.

I split my time between Mexico and California, and will soon be setting roots in Texas.

Therapy
Work with me
Weekly online therapy, anywhere in California.
Listen
Start with a practice
Free guided meditations and prayers.
Read
The In Between
A monthly letter on Substack.

May you come home to the part of you that never left.

Book a consult