Hi, I’m Faith Vargas
Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #142419
I am so happy you’re here!
My passion is walking alongside women who are ready to do the deep inner work and are curious about the connection between their emotional and physical experiences. I especially love supporting women who are navigating chronic health conditions or persistent pain and are looking for more balance, clarity, and compassion for themselves. I also work with women who are struggling with anxiety, whether it's tied to health concerns or life transitions, and are searching for tools to feel more grounded and at peace.
In our work together, I blend cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to help shift unhelpful thought patterns with somatic-based practices that support mind-body awareness and regulation. Somatic work, at its heart, is about helping you reconnect with your body and learn to feel safe in it again. I tailor every session to your unique goals and pace, because your story is your own and our work together should reflect that. For those who desire it, I also offer a faith-based perspective and warmly welcome Christian integration into the therapy process.
I also work with couples using the Gottman Method and with engaged couples for premarital counseling through the Prepare and Enrich program. For more information on couples work visit the “Services” section.
You don't need a specific diagnosis or a perfectly articulated reason for being here. Whatever you are carrying, I want to hear it and understand your unique story. Whether you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply ready for something to shift, you deserve a space where you feel safe, understood, and empowered to grow at your own pace. If any of this resonates with you, I would love to connect. Reach out to schedule a free 15 minute consultation and let's take that first step together.
My Approach
I employ a holistic and relational approach to therapy, attending to the emotional, physical, social, mental, and spiritual dimensions of each client’s experience. In my work with couples, I focus not only on individual concerns, but also on the relational dynamics that shape how partners connect, communicate, and respond to one another. I am particularly interested in the mind-body connection and how relational stress and emotional experiences may manifest somatically. My therapeutic style is grounded in collaboration, empathy, and attunement, as I believe meaningful change occurs within the safety of a strong therapeutic relationship. By creating a supportive and nonjudgmental space, I help couples and individuals feel genuinely heard while encouraging insight, accountability, and intentional growth.
Top Specialties
Chronic Illness
Chronic Pain
Life Transitions
Anxiety
Premarital Couples
Couples
Credentials
Master in Counseling Psychology
Gottman Level 1 Trained
Somatic Embodiment & Regulation
EFT Trained
Prepare & Enrich Facilitator
Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale Certified
My chronic health story began at eleven on the first day of middle school, when I has my first fainting episode (great first impression right?). I had hoped it was a one-time incident, but over the following years the episodes continued, often with no clear trigger or warning.
My Chronic Health Story
My doctor diagnosed me with vasovagal syncope*. At the time, I didn't think much of it and didn't let it define me or keep me from the things I loved. That changed at sixteen, when almost overnight I developed intense anxiety around the episodes. They had become more painful and more traumatic, and I no longer felt safe in my own body.
Aside from my family, no one knew what I was carrying, and I felt deeply ashamed of both the diagnosis and the anxiety that came with it. Since that turning point, it has been a journey of learning to live alongside vasovagal syncope, as well as other symptoms that have emerged along the way.
For years I searched for a cure: the right medication, the right therapy, something that would make it all go away. What I found instead was that healing looks less like a single solution and more like a carefully tended combination of things. Alongside medication, increased salt and fluid intake, rest, and intentional lifestyle shifts, therapy has been truly life-changing. It has given me space to process the emotional weight of living with a chronic condition and empowered me to advocate for my body's unique needs. Somatic therapy in particular gave me tools to stay grounded through anxiety and pain, and slowly, to feel at home in my body again.
This is still a work in progress, and I still have my flares. But I believe there is real power in being honest about that. If sixteen-year-old me had known someone else was navigating vasovagal syncope and the anxiety it can bring, I would have felt far less alone and far more capable.
As it goes with chronic health, my story doesn’t stop there. Over the past few years, I've experienced a significant increase in pain and symptoms related to my menstrual cycle. This journey has been challenging and discouraging in many ways. I am still in the ongoing process of doctors appointments and tests to get answers. In the meantime, I continue to draw on the somatic tools I've built over the years to manage the pain as best I can. Not a cure, but an important piece of the puzzle. If I find more answers one day, I hope to share more of this part of my story with you.
I share all of this to offer you hope and to let you know that I genuinely understand what it means to live in a body that feels uncertain or out of your control. Vulnerability doesn't come naturally to me, even as a therapist, and sharing this beyond my closest people is still hard. But I believe it's worth it, both for me and for you. Whatever diagnosis you carry, or are still searching for, and wherever you are in your health journey, I would be honored to walk alongside you as one piece of your puzzle.
*If you are unfamiliar with vasovagal syncope (VVS), it is a form of dysautonomia. You may have heard of POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), which is a more well known form of dysautonomia. Dysautonomia is the umbrella term for conditions caused by the autonomic nervous system malfunctioning. VVS is a fainting episode that occurs in response to a trigger. Triggers can vary from person to person, but common ones include prolonged standing, emotional stress, and changes in temperature. These triggers cause a drop in blood pressure and a slowing of the heart rate, which ultimately leads to a fainting episode. Individuals with VVS often need to make lifestyle adjustments such as engaging in low intensity exercise, increasing fluids, salts and electrolytes, allowing the body regular rest in a lying position, and for some, changes in diet. While episodes themselves are temporary, ongoing symptoms are common in day to day life and can include nausea, lightheadedness, dizziness, brain fog, chronic fatigue, digestive issues, feeling overheated, and tunnel vision