Cynthia Garza, PsyD is a UTRGV Assistant Professor and licensed Clinical Psychologist from Brownsville, Texas. As a daughter and granddaughter of educators, Dr. Garza is committed to serving children and families to support the success of our next generation. Dr. Garza received her undergraduate and master’s education at The University of Texas at San Antonio and completed her doctoral training at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Throughout her clinical training, she saw patients of all ages in primary care, community mental health, college counseling, emergency and crisis response. She did her clinical internship at Norton Sound Health Corporation, in Nome, Alaska, where she also completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Primary Care Behavioral Health.

In Alaska, Dr. Garza gained clinical experience in brief models of care, risk assessment, safety planning, and harm reduction for suicidal behaviors, non-suicidal self-injury, and substance use disorders. Dr. Garza is certified in testing for Autism and received diagnostic training for developmental disabilities and learning disorders from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Regarding her overall approach to patient care, Dr. Garza has experience providing trauma-informed care, cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral reinforcement and modification planning, suicide prevention and counseling, motivational interviewing, substance abuse counseling, grief counseling, marital and family therapies.