My journey into becoming a therapist began with my own healing. I have known struggle, loss, and moments of deep uncertainty. During challenging times in my life, I turned to therapy, seeking a way forward. In that process, I began to truly understand my emotions, my patterns, and the stories I carried; the work transformed me.
Later, after experiencing an accident, I deepened my healing by reconnecting with my body and discovering the profound wisdom it holds. Integrating what I learned across my emotional, mental, and physical experiences became my calling. I chose to deepen my knowledge through formal studies and professional training so I could support others in a grounded and meaningful way.
Over time, through both personal experience and extensive study, I came to understand that healing is not only about working with our thoughts or retelling our stories. While insight and awareness are powerful, true integration happens when we include the whole person: mind, body, and soul. Many of us live primarily in our heads, trained to analyze and think, yet rarely taught how to listen to our bodies. And yet, the body often carries honest information that the mind can distort or override.
This understanding led me to deepen my studies in holistic and somatic approaches, grounding my work in body-based practices while also honoring the importance of our thoughts and belief systems. In my practice, we will gently explore thought patterns and create more supportive ways of thinking, while also learning how to tune into the body’s cues and sensations. When we learn to listen to both the mind and the body, healing becomes deeper, more integrated, and more lasting. I bring not only professional training but also lived experience, compassion, and the deep belief that even in our most difficult moments, transformation is possible.
Gabriela was born and raised in Mexico City, where she attended the American School Foundation and grew up in an international environment. She is bilingual and bicultural; she later lived in England for three years, where she studied Theatre and Film and worked with children.
After moving to California, Gabriela completed a Bachelor of Arts in Film and worked as a documentary filmmaker for seven years. Through her work and travels, she discovered a strong calling to work more directly with people facing personal challenges.
She earned a Master’s degree in Integral Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2005 and became a Marriage and Family Therapist. She later completed postgraduate training in Mindfulness and Self-Compassion, and she has also studied meditation and yoga in India, where she spent time at an ashram in Kerala. In 2012, she earned her yoga certification and specialized in Trauma-Sensitive Yoga.
Her clinical training includes Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Polyvagal Theory, EMDR, and training in Ketamine-assisted and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Gabriela has served as an adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies and as a board member of RISE. This nonprofit brings yoga to marginalized schools. She has also supervised students training to become psychotherapists.
She also leads workshops on anxiety coping skills, parenting teenagers, and mindfulness and compassion practices, and teaches Trauma-Sensitive Yoga to trauma survivors in nonprofit organizations and shelters.
Integrative Therapy & Mind-Body Healing
Supporting individuals and teens with compassion and clarity.
Phone: (415) 407-1513
© 2016-2026 Gabriela Breton. All Rights Reserved
Crafted with DigiCorns