Estefana Johnson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who began her career in behavioral health in 2001 working with at-risk youth in residential treatment facilities as a Behavioral Health Technician. She began her career as a therapist in 2009, providing individual, group and family therapy for juveniles with sexual behavior problems. Estefana has held multiple positions in the mental health field in various settings and spent 2 years teaching in Japan. Her experience in residential treatment and public healthcare, along with the cultural challenges encountered as a first-generation child of immigrants and living as a foreigner in Japan have shaped her understanding of and connection with people, and become the core of her therapeutic approach.
Estefana believes that the client is the ‘expert’ of their life and takes on a client-centered, solution-focused approach in her sessions. She has worked with various mental health issues including PTSD, sexual trauma, anxiety disorders, conduct disorder, addictions, sexual behavior problems and life transitions. Estefana is a Certified Master Accelerated Resolution Therapy® (ART) clinician who provides consultation and training for mental health professionals, foster/adoptive parents, and behavioral health organizations and has presented at multiple conferences. She currently practices at Lighthouse Psychiatry in Gilbert, Arizona. She is passionate about foster and adoptive children and serves as lead volunteer, Board Member, and Clinical Director for ASA Now, a non-profit organization that provides assistance, support, and advocacy at a legislative level for foster and adoptive children and their families.