Diana Menendez
Diana Menendez, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist
- California Licensed Psychologist PSY28854
- Psy.D., Clinical Psychology, Phillips Graduate Institute, Los Angeles
- M.A., Psychology, Phillips Graduate Institute, Los Angeles
- B.A., Psychology, California State University, Northridge
Pronouns: She/Hers
Specializes in:
- Relationships and Interpersonal Connection
- First Generation College Student Concerns
- Sociocultural Concerns
- Anxiety
Fun Facts:
I love memes and fairy gardening with succulents. Might also be obsessed with cats.
Dr. Menendez has experience working in a variety of mental health settings providing individual and group therapy, outreach and assessment services primarily to low-income populations from diverse backgrounds. During her post-doctoral internship at Cal Poly Pomona, she had the opportunity to work extensively with underrepresented students. She has been working with college populations for 6 years and has worked as a psychologist at Cal Poly SLO since 2017.
Dr. Menendez’s approach to therapy is integrative, primarily Humanistic, with Systems, Emotion-Focused and Psychodynamic elements. She considers the unique needs of clients and encourages a collaborative approach to address those needs. She strives to support clients facilitate the development of a healthy relationship with themselves by providing a safe space to foster awareness, self-compassion, skill-building and a sense of empowerment to guide change. Some of her clinical interests include working with individuals concerned with relationships, social anxiety, trauma, low self-esteem, life transitions and those who are first generation in college. She also enjoys working with Highly Sensitive People (HSP) as defined by Dr. Elaine Aron (http://hsperson.com/).
As a psychologist, Dr. Menendez values diversity and social justice. She honors the multiple roles and intersecting identities that clients hold and navigate in their academic, social, and family life. She also encourages the exploration of the various systems in which these roles unfold. Dr. Menendez was born and raised in El Salvador and is also able to provide mental health services in Spanish.
During her time off, Dr. Menendez enjoys spending time trying different foods, experimenting with photography and hiking in warm humid weather as it reminds her of her homeland.
