About
Dr. Xiomara Cervantes-Gómez is a bilingual trans Latina psychotherapist, independent scholar, and consultant based in Chicago. Her work reimagines what rigorous clinical and social care looks like when it is shaped by critical theory, lived experience, and deep respect for the communities it serves.
Before entering clinical practice, Dr. Cervantes-Gómez spent over a decade in academic research and higher education. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Southern California, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and a Master of Arts in Social Work from the University of Chicago's Crown Family School. She has held faculty positions at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and The University of Chicago, where she continues to teach graduate courses on structural social work, sexuality, and research methods.
Her scholarship centers queer and trans of color life in the Americas, examining how performance, embodiment, sexuality, and state violence intersect. She is the author of Bottoms Up: Queer Mexicanness and Latinx Performance (NYU Press, 2024), and her peer-reviewed work has appeared in journals including ASAP/Journal, Journal of Visual Culture, and Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies.
Beyond her clinical caseload, Dr. Cervantes-Gómez provides consultation and training for clinicians, organizations, and legal professionals. Her work includes clinical consultation on complex cases involving gender, sexuality, and trauma; educational programming on trans-affirming care and cultural responsiveness; and policy consultation related to Title IX, institutional harm, and immigration.
A Note on Positionality: Dr. Cervantes-Gómez's practice is shaped by her own experience navigating systems as a trans Latina, including faith communities, academic institutions, and the mental health field itself. She brings that knowledge into every session, not as autobiography, but as an orientation: a commitment to noticing what gets pathologized, what gets left unspoken, and what becomes possible when someone is truly met where they are.
