Velina Villarreal

Velina believes meaningful change involves more than restructuring your thoughts and changing compulsive behaviors. She believes recovery involves developing a deeper understanding of these experiences, and to discover ways to redeem them in a way that is uniquely yours. Her goal is to help you move from shame and disconnection toward greater self- understanding, integrated connection, and a life that feels more aligned with who you want to be.

Velina Villarreal, LPC-S, RPT-S, CSAT, CMAT, is a Texas-licensed professional counselor and supervisor, and runs velaquest.com in Austin. With more than a decade of experience, she helps individuals navigate complex relational and behavioral concerns. Velina brings a compassionate approach to therapy that balances concrete, science-backed practices with the abstract, innovative mind-body connection.

Her specialty work focuses on adults and young people experiencing problematic sexual behaviors, including unwanted pornography use and sex gaming. She also supports individuals struggling with relational and intimacy concerns, including unwanted parasocial attachments, love avoidance, sugaring, and behaviors that have broken trust in their previous or current relationships. As a child of immigrants, she also has a particular interest in supporting first and second generation adults who find themselves managing between two cultural worlds and the nuanced intersection of personal values, family expectations, and sexuality.

Velina completed specialized training as a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) in 2021 and Certified Multiple Addiction Therapist (CMAT) in 2023 through IITAP. Her approach incorporates the clinical gold standards of CBT and DBT, as well as somatic therapy, inner-child work, and additional training in EMDR and EFT. In 2022, she was trained in ketamine and psychedelic medicine through the Psychedelic Research & Training Institute (PRATI), and is so thankful to have a partnership with Better U to continue this invaluable work of recovery. Individual sessions with Velina range from $215 to $250.