I am a Licensed Professional Counselor based in South Texas. I have experience providing direct mental health and behavioral counseling for diverse populations including children and teens. I have helped clients build the skills necessary to cope with trauma and abuse, stress and anxiety, depression, family issues, gender identity, confidence, and self-esteem.
In our first session, we will work to get to know each other and the specific problems that led you to seek therapy. I will ask questions that will allow me to get a holistic picture of you and how these difficulties are affecting your life. I will also encourage you to ask me questions to get to know me better because, I feel the best work in therapy in done when their is trust and you cannot trust someone you know nothing about. We will end the session with an introduction of the theories we will be utilizing in therapy and a summary of what we have discussed.
I approach the therapeutic relationship without judgment, with respect, and as a collaboration between the client and I. I work with my clients to create an open and safe environment where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment and we can work toward achieving your goals through research-based practices. Through my work with underserved communities, I have experience working with clients from all walks of life. I view every client as an individual and with compassion while also challenging them to lead their therapeutic journey.
Through the use of mindfulness-based therapy I have helped many clients learn to be present in the here and now and break away from unhelpful and negative thoughts. We will use mindfulness-based techniques to help you tune into your thoughts and feelings, figure out what they are telling you they need, and learn to cope with distressing thoughts.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) along with mindfulness is the primary theory I utilize with clients. The techniques used help clients challenge unhelpful and intrusive thoughts that lead to anxiety and can add to feelings of stress. We will use CBT to understand how your thoughts are influenced by your lived experience and how they lead to what you feel and how you behave. We will then learn to challenge these thoughts to change unhelpful and distressing feelings and behaviors.