Alex Barragan LMFT, LPCC
Stride Counseling Founder
About Me
I’m Alex — a dual-licensed therapist based in California:
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT) and
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC).
I’m also the founder of Stride Counseling, a practice rooted in the idea that therapy is a process — one that moves at your pace. It’s not about “fixing” you. It’s about understanding yourself, making sense of what’s been weighing on you, and taking steps toward a life that actually feels like yours.
Why I Started Stride
Before becoming a therapist, I worked in New York’s corporate fashion industry — a world that was high-pressure, fast-moving, and never satisfied.
At the time, I tried finding a therapist who understood what I was dealing with — the identity layers, the stress, the constant striving — and I came up empty. That disconnect is what eventually led me to become a therapist myself, and to build the kind of space I had been looking for.
What I Bring Into the Room
As a gay, Latino man and a child of immigrants, I understand how complex it can feel to carry multiple parts of yourself — especially in spaces that don’t always get it. Here, you don’t have to explain the basics. You can just show up.
My approach is:
• Collaborative
• Warm
• Direct
• Affirming
I’m not the therapist who just nods. I’m engaged. I ask questions. I hold space for the hard stuff — and help you make sense of it, at your pace.
I work with adults navigating:
• Anxiety
• Burnout
• Trauma
• Identity exploration
• Perfectionism
• Relationship issues
• And that general feeling of “something’s off”
Outside the Office
In addition to my clinical work, I teach at Mount Saint Mary’s University and Antioch University, helping train the next generation of therapists to be culturally aware, affirming, and truly present with their clients.
If You’re Ready
You don’t need to have the perfect words or a five-point plan. If you’re ready for honest, real therapy that actually helps — I’m here.
HOW CAN I HELP?
I work with adults and couples who are navigating big emotions, identity questions, relationship challenges, and the pressure to hold it all together. Maybe you’ve kept it together on the outside, but inside, it’s exhausting.
My clinical focus includes:
Identity & Expression (exploring who you are in a world that asks you to fit in)
Managing stress & burnout (when functioning doesn’t mean thriving)
Relationships & Communication (untangling the hard stuff)
Trauma & Loss (what you've been through—and how you carry it)
Self-worth & Growth (not just surviving, but feeling alive)
Whether you're showing up with something specific or just a sense that things aren’t working, we’ll figure it out together—without shame or judgment.
My approach blends therapy grounded in tools—with room to be yourself and with a real human connection — humor, honesty, and room to just be yourself.
