The road to growth can be collaborative and compassionate. If you're feeling stuck or lost, I can help you develop the balance and tools you need to enjoy this time of your life.
Services & Specialties
With over eighteen years of experience providing individual and couples counseling, I specialize in helping adult professionals and grad students with academic and workplace adjustment, anxiety, burnout and stress management, interpersonal trauma, multicultural stressors, and relationship and sexual issues. With couples, I have expertise in helping partners improve communication, emotional connection, and sexual concerns. I also offer clinical consultation to both new and experienced therapists.
Using a culturally-responsive and sex-positive framework, I integrate evidence-based treatments and tailor them to address your specific needs and personality. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness and relational/interpersonal interventions are the primary approaches I use in individual and sex therapy. These approaches allow me to quickly help you pinpoint stumbling blocks and create healthier thoughts and behaviors that stick.
With couples, I have extensive training in Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), both empirically supported treatments. IBCT was developed by Dr. Neil Jacobson and Dr. Andrew Christensen, who was my clinical supervisor and research advisor at UCLA (where I completed my PhD). The efficacy of IBCT has been shown in three randomized clinical trials, even with seriously and chronically distressed couples.
Specialties: Individual Concerns
Academic and workplace adjustment
Anxiety (fear, panic, social anxiety, test anxiety, worry)
Body image & eating concerns
Depression, mood instability/bipolarity & sadness
Insomnia
Multicultural, identity and & social justice concerns
Obsessive-Compulsive behaviors
Perfectionism
Relationships & interpersonal issues (assertiveness, dating, family of origin concerns, interpersonal trauma, intimate relationships, setting boundaries, shyness)
Sexuality (enhancing sexual intimacy & communication, low desire, orgasm difficulty)
Stress management, burn-out, work-life balance
Specialties: Couples/Partners Concerns
Communication skills
De-escalating conflict
Enhancing emotional intimacy
Intercultural challenges
Sexual Issues: desire discrepancies, improving sexual communication & connection
Transition to parenthood
Specialties: Populations
Couples
I am experienced working with both cross-sex/straight & LGBTQQ couples. I have a sex-positive approach and am poly and kink-aware.
Professionals in health service, start-ups and tech
Students
Graduate & professional
First-generation, international and undocumented students
Historically marginalized and oppressed communities
BIPOC
Biracial/multiethnic
Individuals with disabilities (ADHD, autism, learning)
Latina/o/x
LGBTQQ and gender non-conforming identities
Specialties: Clinical Consultation
I offer clinical consultation to both early-career and experienced therapists who:
Are starting a private practice
Seek specialization in any of the individual and couples therapy concerns listed above
Want help with conceptualizing and working with specific, complex clients/interactions
Want to strengthen skills in culturally-affirming care and evidence-based practice
Fees
Currently, I am an in-network provider with Lyra Health. I do not accept insurance and I would be considered an out-of-network provider for PPO plans. I can provide you with a monthly invoice for counseling sessions, called a superbill, that you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement from your insurance company. I recommend contacting your insurance company regarding your out-of-network benefits prior to your first session with me.
I reserve several sliding scale spots for clients with limited financial means. Currently, all of my sliding scale spots are full. Please contact me for more information.
I accept cash, checks and credit card, including Health Saving Account (HSA) cards. Payment is expected at the time of our session.
If you need to cancel a session, please inform me as early as possible. If you cancel your appointment less than 24 hours before your scheduled session, you will be required to submit full payment.
For other professional services that exceed 15 minutes outside of our sessions, you will be billed on a prorated basis. Examples include telephone conversations, email conversations, extensive coordination of care, FMLA/STD/medical leave letters, treatment summary letters, and report writing.
If you anticipate becoming involved in a court case, I recommend that we discuss this fully and in detail. Please be advised that I do not currently provide child custody recommendations. If I am subpoenaed or your case requires my participation, you will be expected to pay for the professional time required even if another party compels me to testify. My rate for participation in legal proceedings including appearance, preparation, and travel time carries a retainer of $3000, due one week prior to the court date, and a charge of $500 per hour for court preparation and attendance, preparation of materials necessary for hard copies of your health records, any other materials and resources necessary, and reimbursement for any travel time, unless indicated and agreed upon otherwise.
Individual Rate:
50-55-minutes: $180
Couples Rates:
50-55-minutes: $230
Clinical Consultation Rate:
50-55-minutes: $180
About
I'm a psychologist, but I’m also a mom, a nerd, a multiethnic woman, and an intersectional feminist. I was trained as a scientist but I also have a deep appreciation for the magic and mystery of this world. When I’m not juggling life/work/parenting, you can usually find me with my nose in a book, searching for thrift store treasures, or out hiking in nature. I was born and raised in Austin and returned home after eighteen years away—so I also love re-exploring my hometown.
In those eighteen years I received my B.A. from Brown University, my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA, and finished my pre-and post-doctoral training at UC Berkeley. I then worked for seven years as a staff psychologist at UC Berkeley and UCSF, helping college and graduate students from diverse backgrounds, ages and cultures. I’ve also taught graduate courses in counseling and psychology. For the past seven years, I have had my own private practice. What that means for you is that I have rigorous training as a therapist, researcher and instructor. I am an experienced clinician and I put great effort into everything that I do. I know a lot (and continue to learn) about the issues professionals and students are facing in this world. And I am passionate about using my knowledge, training and intuition to help my clients improve their lives and reach their goals.
When you work with me, I aim to create a warm, non-judgmental and empowering space where you can feel safe to explore and challenge yourself. I want to understand your concerns, values, identities and collaborate with you towards progress and meaningful change. My style is friendly and supportive, but simultaneously active, interactive and kindly direct (and embedded within my own personality and sense of humor). I don’t just sit silently and nod my head—I offer my own thoughts, perspectives and ideas on what might help you. I also aim to help you access your own inner wisdom, intuition, and resilience.
As a bicultural psychologist, I also believe it’s important to look at how multicultural, contextual and social justice issues are connected to what’s going on for you. I value working with folks from diverse cultural backgrounds and believe that therapy is most successful when we can harness your individual and cultural strengths. As a Latina, I stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and am committed to antiracism and social justice in all parts of my life, including the work I do as a psychologist and psychotherapist.
Experience
Staff Psychologist & Clinical Operations Coordinator
UCSF Student Health & Counseling Services
Staff Psychologist
UC Berkeley Counseling & Psychological Services
Disability Specialist
UC Berkeley Disabled Students Program
Adjunct Professor
Alliant International University
Post-Doctoral Fellow
UC Berkeley Counseling & Psychological Services
Pre-Doctoral Fellow
UC Berkeley Counseling & Psychological Services
Education
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology
University of California, Los Angeles
B.A. Psychology
Brown University
Certifications
Licensed Psychologist (Texas), #37711
I have Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) in the following 42 states: https://psypact.org/mpage/psypactmap (Mobility Number 5927)
Health Service Provider in Psychology, #53450
Licensed Psychologist (California--currently inactive), #24544
Contact Me
I offer both in-person and telehealth (video/phone) sessions.
Austin, TX
Phone: 512-856-5211
Fax: 512-367-5721
Want to Learn More?
I look forward to hearing from you!
If you are interested in working together or want to learn more about my services, you can call me at 512-856-5211 or send me a message online. I offer a free 15-minute initial phone consultation.
You may also email me at felicia@feliciadmercerphd.com. Please be aware that email is not a confidential means of communication.
I respond to messages typically within 1-3 days. Please be aware that I am not in the office on Fridays.
Colleague Testimonials
“I am grateful to have worked with Dr. De La Garza Mercer as a colleague for several years. She is a highly-skilled, compassionate and thoughtful psychologist. She artfully blends her knowledge of evidence-based treatments with a heart-felt connection with her clients. She honors her clients’ intersecting identities and strives to understand deeply each of her client’s unique worldview. I would whole-heartedly refer my own family, friends and clients to Dr. De La Garza Mercer.”
“There are people you are simply meant to meet - someone who joins you along the way of your life’s journey and enriches it. I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing Dr. De La Garza Mercer for nearly a decade and I believe this to be true of the time I’ve come to know her. I have been consistently surprised by how she balances a nurturing, compassionate energy with sound, grounded, evidence-based practice. She is someone I admire and trust wholeheartedly. And yes, she is someone I believe individuals can trust implicitly with the care, healing and enrichment in your life’s journey, as well. ”
“I have worked with Felicia for a number of years as a clinical colleague and supervisor at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco. She is one of the most skilled psychotherapists I have had the pleasure of working with. She has a special combination of deep and up-to-date knowledge that she integrates into a skillful clinical approach. I especially appreciated her expertise in working with multicultural, gender and sexual identity issues. I have learned much from her!”
