Garcia joins Hamakua-Kohala Health

Dr. Ziska Garcia will be providing the community with psychology services at Hamakua-Kohala Health’s newest location on Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School’s grounds. The clinic is open to the public and accepting new patients.

Dr. Garcia hails from the San Francisco area and brings experience as a clinical psychologist specializing in integrative medicine, pediatric mental health and women’s health. Dr. Garcia has experience working with diverse and culturally sensitive health issues. She has collaborated with other providers to support the holistic health and wellness of a diverse client population. She has trained doctoral students in clinical psychology in the provision of culturally sensitive integrative mental services.

She also chaired a cultural inclusion committee to address diversity and reduce health disparities.

Dr. Garcia completed her undergraduate degree in gender studies and education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Garcia worked as an educator with children in grades K-12, as well as in social service, and arts nonprofits in development, marketing, and volunteer coordination.

Her predoctoral internship was at the University of California-San Francisco Infant-Parent Program at San Francisco General Hospital. She received a doctorate in clinical psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, Calif. Her postdoctoral fellowship was at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland.

Most recently Dr. Garcia managed an integrative mental health and training program at a primary care and women’s health clinic in San Francisco.

She also has experience as a crisis hotline volunteer for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. She developed a curriculum related to emotional and mental health aspects of reproductive health and used this curriculum to train volunteers on a crisis support line.

Dr. Garcia is also a certified yoga instructor and incorporates mindfulness and movement into her work as a clinical psychologist. She believes that healing happens in the mind, body, and spirit. She combines different techniques to best meet the unique needs of each of her patients.

Hamakua-Kohala Health provides comprehensive primary and preventative healthcare regardless of your ability to pay. Most insurance is accepted. For those that have no insurance, they offer a sliding fee scale. Call Hamakua-Kohala Health at 775-7204 to schedule a wellness visit.