I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor (#81663) practicing in Texas. I'm so happy you're here as this means you're considering or have already started your journey to increased self awareness and understanding.
I received my Master's of Arts in Counseling from St. Edward's University. I specialize in working with anxiety, life transitions, mood disorders, PTSD, and trauma. I am trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, Sandtray Therapy, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). I provide a caring and safe space for clients to explore all parts of themselves. Creating a strong therapeutic relationship is essential and serves as the foundation of change. I understand that trust is earned and work to build trust within the therapeutic relationship starting from the first session. I highly value feedback about what’s working and what isn’t because I want my clients to get the most out of our time together. I regularly assess progress to make sure that we are on the right track.
I have spent all of my counseling career working in community mental health, as I am passionate about making mental health care affordable and accessible for everyone. While practicing in a community mental health setting, I helped individuals recovering from incarceration and supported clients recovering from early onset psychosis. Working in community mental health provides me the opportunity to help people from various backgrounds, which has shaped how I work by increasing my awareness of the importance of each client’s life experiences, preferences, beliefs, and cultures. I view the client as the expert on themselves and my role is to help clients increase their self-understanding.
I am an avid learner and a lifelong student. One thing I love about the counseling field is the seemingly endless opportunities to learn about various techniques and healing practices. I enjoy training that increases my knowledge about incorporating both the brain and the body in session as well as helping the brain and body work together better. I also pursue training to help me learn about the influences of people from Indigenous cultures, such as shamans and curanderas, on the mental health field. I want my clinical work to honor the roots on which counseling was built by developing knowledge of different healing practices.
Growing up in a city that sits between the U.S. and Mexico border helped me learn about holding space for dualities that challenge what it means to belong. Having parents from two different cultures complicated knowing where I fit in as a kid. Over time, I realized that I have the ability to decide where and with whom I belong. This power of choice shapes my counseling work, as I seek to empower clients to choose their own outcomes. I believe the therapeutic process is a chance to better understand ourselves in order to help us better cope with how we experience the world. I want to help you find balance so that you are better equipped to cope with the many changes and challenges life brings.