Dr. Montes (she/her) a Washington state licensed psychologist (license #PY61095908) as well as a member of PSYPACT, which allows her to see clients via telehealth in 43 states. She obtained her Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) from the APA-accredited Clinical Psychology program at Illinois School of Professional Psychology at National Louis University in Chicago, IL in 2020.

Dr. Montes has over a decade of clinical experience. Many of her training experiences include working in university counseling, including at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Counseling Center, where she worked with predominantly ethnic minority and first generation college students. She enjoys working with identity development and relationship issues within the context of young adulthood. She also trained at Diamond Headache Clinic at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago, where she worked as part of an integrative care team serving chronic pain patients. 

Dr. Montes is certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) and is passionate about supporting pregnant and postpartum individuals. She has completed Postpartum Support International's internationally recognized evidence-based trainings, a 14.5-hour Perinatal Mood Disorders: Components of Care, a 6-hour Advanced Perinatal Mental Health Psychotherapy and a 12-hour Perinatal Loss: Clinical and Supportive Care. As a mother herself, she understands the challenges that many new parents face within a culture where they are often under-supported.

Prior to becoming a psychologist, Dr. Montes was a yoga and meditation teacher for over a decade; she finds her own practice helps ground her in her work with clients. Her doctoral dissertation explored the relationship between mindfulness, self-compassion and empathy in student therapists and she found a significant relationship between the frequency with which one practices mindfulness and one’s self-reported levels of self-compassion.

Dr. Montes is originally from Southern California, moved to New York City for college, worked in Los Angeles after graduation, then moved to Chicago for graduate school and back to the west coast when she matched at University of Washington in Seattle for internship in 2019. She opened her private practice in March 2021 and loves that it provides the opportunity to do more depth-oriented, long-term work. When she’s not with clients, she enjoys thrifting, exploring farmer’s markets, pottery, baking sourdough bread, and mothering her three little ones.