Walter Garcia Hernandez, PsyD is a postdoctoral fellow at the Chicago DBT Institute. He earned his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from The Wright State University School of Professional Psychology in Dayton, OH. Walter completed his pre-doctoral internship at Advocate Illinois Masonic Behavioral Health in Chicago, IL where he delivered individual, group, and skills training to adults and teenagers. He completed a rotation in the Obstetrics unit, where he provided services to mothers from diverse populations. There, Walter worked closely with expectant mothers experiencing emotion dysregulation, suicidality, self-harm behaviors, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and more. These services were provided both in Spanish and English.  

Walter has received foundational training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) through Behavioral Tech, DBT and Radically Open DBT training through The Lindner Center of Hope, and Trauma Focused CBT and Cognitive Processing Therapy at the Ellis Human Institute in Dayton, Ohio. His clinical interests include adolescent and adult populations and working with members of the diverse ethnic backgrounds who experience emotion dysregulation, personality disorders, interpersonal difficulties, and anxiety. Walter uses a holistic approach with clients that reduces stigma and pathologizing of their lived experience. By using this approach, he focuses on the person as well as their interactions with the environment. This approach is used with the hopes of allowing the client to build a life worth living. 

During his free time, Walter enjoys weightlifting, bicycling, playing soccer, cooking, and playing board games with his loved ones. He also enjoys watching football, basketball, and spending time with his wife and three cats.