Meet Sam Gongora

Practicum Therapist

Sam approaches counseling with endless curiosity! Curious about you, your values, goals, and identity. She believes therapy is about supporting a life that is authentic to you. She is currently a graduate student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Adams State University, pursuing licensure as a professional counselor. Sam is supervised by Dr. Bernadette Pivarunas and Jenn Hight.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

CULTURAL RESUME

• I identify as a woman, a third-generation Mexican American, bisexual, a first-generation college graduate, and an atheist.

• I have lived experience with neurodivergence, mental illness, chronic illness, surviving verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, and disenfranchised grief.

• I find meaning in the process of learning and creating with my chosen family.

• I recognize that I hold privileges, including being White, a U.S. citizen, cisgender, having access to higher education, and having the financial stability to pursue a second career.

• I was raised in Houston, Texas, primarily by my mom.

• I was no-contact with my father from 2015 until his death in 2025.

• I was raised Southern Baptist before ultimately identifying as atheist.

• Tremendous gratitude to The Adaway Group for first introducing our practice to the notion of a cultural resume.