Annette Rios-Barrera
Compassionate, practical care for relationship and life challenges
LCSW Texas
- Experience
- 23 years in practice
- Focus areas
- LGBT, Relationship, Family
- Approaches
- Gottman Method, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
About Annette
Annette Rios-Barrera is a licensed clinical social worker with 23 years of experience based in Texas. She uses a trauma-informed, relational approach to help people navigate anxiety, depression, grief, and questions about identity.
Background and approach
Annette welcomes clients who identify as LGBT and those exploring nontraditional relationship structures, and she works in both English and Spanish. Her style is practical and grounded.
Sessions focus on clear goals and simple skills people can use between meetings. She aims to build emotional safety, rebuild trust, and increase self-awareness so people feel more steady in daily life.
Annette blends several approaches to fit each person’s needs. She often draws on the Gottman Method for relationship work, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify values and commitment, and attachment-based ideas to unpack patterns from early relationships.
Cognitive behavioral tools are used to address anxious or depressive thinking. She brings warmth and occasional levity to therapy, including techniques from laughter yoga when that suits a client’s process.
Annette makes space for difficult emotions while also inviting small moments of relief and play. People seeking help with intimacy-related issues, relationship struggles, family stress, career strain, chronic illness, or life transitions may find her approach helpful.
Her practice balances emotional depth with practical steps that can be applied between sessions.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online work
Annette often uses the Gottman Method to help people notice patterns in how they communicate and to build clearer habits for difficult conversations. Gottman-informed work focuses on specific interaction skills and exercises that can be practiced between sessions. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify what matters most to them and take action toward those values even when emotions are hard. ACT is useful for stress, anxiety, and life transitions. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationship patterns shape current emotional responses and helps people try new ways of relating that feel safer and more connected.Choosing the right mix of approaches is part of the work and will be done together. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what feels most helpful, then tailor techniques to that plan. This collaborative process makes it easier to adjust methods as needs change.
Online therapy offers several practical benefits for this style of care. Video calls recreate face-to-face conversation and let the therapist observe nonverbal cues. Phone sessions can be a lower-bandwidth option and work well for check-ins. Live chat and text-based messaging make brief check-ins and between-session coaching possible. These formats increase flexibility for busy schedules, travel, or when someone prefers not to be on camera.
Frequently asked questions
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Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
23+ years
Licensed in
Texas
Languages
English, Spanish