Patricia (Christina) Kantzavelos

Licensed Psychotherapist, International Coach, and Writer

Patricia (Christina) Kantzavelos is a neurodivergent, and first-generation (third culture) Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), life coach, writer, and chronic illness warrior.  She received both her BA and MSW from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and her MLIS from San Jose State University (SJSU). 

Her experience includes 14 years of clinical experience in a range of settings, including both outpatient and inpatient psychiatric services, acute inpatient hospital services (telemetry, medical/surgical, labor and delivery, ER, Behavioral Health, and ICU), insurance case management, assertive community treatment (ACT), home health, hospice, applied behavioral analysis (ABA) for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), disaster mental health (humanitarian work), psychedelic-assisted therapy, and private therapy and coaching. She is warm, interactive, and treats everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion, and likes to meet her clients where they are.

She specializes in treating clients with chronic health conditions (aka spoonies and medical refugees) and trauma (including medical trauma). Chronic medical conditions and rare diseases, including psychophysiological disorders (i.e. diabetes, dysautonomia, EDS, CCI, CSF, Lyme Disease, Bartonella, Lyme Co-infections, PPD, Hashimoto’s, mast cell activation syndrome, vasculitis, back, and neck pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome ME, vertigo, IBS, IBD, sickle cell disease, POTS, Long-Haul Covid, mold illness CIRS, PANDAS, etc.) often come with significant challenges, like fear, anxiety, medical PTSD, and may interfere with relationships and daily function. It is her experience and belief that chronic illnesses are often rooted in trauma(s) that cause a chronic stress/ fight-or-flight response, not allowing the body to prioritize healing. She utilizes various holistic evidence-based treatment modalities and practice-based evidence such as EMDR and Constructed Awareness to get to the root, with an added focus on mindfulness techniques, somatic exercises, neural retraining, and strength-based therapy.  In addition, she provides life coaching, case management, and elder and disability care planning and support. 

She is also a writer, and an award-winning gluten-free and health-conscious travel and lifestyle blogger, @buenqamino. She currently volunteers as a facilitator and sits on the board of San Diego Lyme Alliance (Bay Area Lyme Foundation affiliate).

CHRONIC ILLNESS WARRIOR

As a chronic illness warrior herself, she understands the other side of the couch (or, screen), and how important it is to talk to someone who gets it.

She has battled with food sensitivities, migraines, and various autoimmune diseases for decades, as well as ADHD, and in 2007 she was first diagnosed with dysautonomia, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). She was later diagnosed with celiac disease, and in 2018, she began experiencing new and debilitating symptoms, only to be diagnosed with various autoimmune diseases and illnesses. In October of 2018, she thankfully found a Lyme literate doctor (LLMD)/rheumatologist and was finally diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease, co-infections, mold toxicity, and other ailments, leaving her couch-bound, which is when her healing journey truly began.

Her healing has included a mixture of Eastern and Western treatments (infusions, medications, supplements, osteopathy, energy work, therapy, acupuncture, yucca chiropractic, holistic dentistry, physical therapy), nutritional changes (organic, gluten-free, casein-free [dairy], and mostly plant-based, and refined sugar-free), as well as switching to non-toxic living, and clean beauty. She completed DNRS (neural-retraining therapy) received EMDR trauma-informed therapy, and prioritized radical self-care, including journaling, painting, joining CoDA, meditating, utilizing plant medicine, dancing/ moving, and being out in nature as often as possible. She can’t stress enough how fierce the mind-body connection is, and how much mental health and trauma play a role in chronic illness. From being couch-bound, and sensitive to just about everything (scents, food, EMFs), she has returned to herself, embodied, and doing what she loves most, like hiking, and traveling while tolerating most foods, and scents.

Although she is still very much on the road to healing, she has made a conscious decision to choose an attitude and intention of thriving, over an obsession with surviving and hopes to share that with others. 

LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO GET TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF YOUR DIS-EASE, AND INVITE IN WELLNESS AND JOY.

YOU DESERVE TO FEEL SAFE IN YOUR BODY.