Mariana Nogueira, LCSW

Mariana Nogueira, LCSW, is a behavioral health professional, healthcare leader, entrepreneur, and Founder of Cultural Connection Therapy Center in Davis, California. She has more than a decade of experience in behavioral health and healthcare, with a career spanning clinical assessment, crisis intervention, behavioral health triage, psychiatric case management, trauma treatment, hospice and palliative care, grief and bereavement services, and private practice. Through Cultural Connection Therapy Center, she provides culturally responsive, trauma-informed behavioral health services to diverse communities, with a particular focus on addressing cultural, linguistic, and systemic barriers to care. Her clinical expertise includes PTSD, trauma, anxiety, depression, and life transitions, using evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Mariana's professional background combines direct clinical care with healthcare operations, leadership, education, and community advocacy. At Kaiser Permanente, she provides behavioral health triage, risk assessment, crisis intervention, and specialized PTSD treatment while collaborating across multidisciplinary healthcare systems. Earlier in her career, she managed complex psychiatric cases, provided palliative and bereavement services, and led a Spanish-speaking bereavement program serving Spanish-speaking and Latinx communities. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of California, Davis, a Master’s Degree in Social Work from California State University, Sacramento, and is currently pursuing an MBA in Healthcare Management at Eastern University. She also serves as a DEI and cultural competency trainer and founded the Kaiser Permanente Latinx Association for Napa-Solano.

Mariana's leadership and clinical philosophy are deeply influenced by her experiences as a Brazilian immigrant who has lived in five countries and by the support of her family, partner, children, mentors, and professional community. She believes in justice, compassion, hard work, resilience, and culturally responsive care, and she advocates for recognizing the systemic and socioeconomic factors that influence mental health. She encourages young women to remain resilient, trust their unique strengths, and continue moving forward even when faced with setbacks or criticism. Fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, Mariana brings a multilingual and multicultural perspective to her work and is committed to expanding access to meaningful behavioral health services while building healthcare organizations that are more inclusive, effective, and responsive to the communities they serve.