LCPC, 22 years of experience
Hello! I gained an interest in Psychology while working in a nursing home for 10 years with those with dementia or end of life care and met so many wonderful people and knew I wanted to learn and meet more people to try and help guide people as much as I could. I majored in Psychology and minored in Women Studies & Multi-cultural studies at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN attaining my BA. I later worked for a while and while working full-time, I went to grad school to attain my Graduate Degree Summa Cumme Laude in December of 2010 at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago majoring in Rehabilitation Counseling which had a primary major emphasis in Psychology and there were also emphases in physical disabilities and vocational counseling respectively. I have 14 years in the field post getting my licensure working with a diverse population. I'm a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) or a Licensed Therapist in other words in the state of Illinois and have been since January of 2012. I have experience as a Qualified Mental Health Professional since 2003 working with adults, adolescents, & children as that is when I started my professional career in Outreach Community Mental Health and have have been at the Director level supervising other Clinicians getting their licenses and those already with their licenses providing counseling and case management services throughout the Chicagoland area.
In our first session we'll start with getting to know one each other, we'll both want to make sure we are a good fit for one another and I'll want to see in what you want to explore in our sessions. We'll also need to complete an intake assessment.
Having the education, personal & professional experiences for years now I feel I can assess and assign the most appropriate type of therapy to a person taking in a person in a holistic manner and use a very person centered approach.
I love working with anyone who has committed to working on themselves to find a healthier happier person. I've worked with those with many different cultural backgrounds and am very sensitive and aware of how culture and environmental factors can play into ones mental health along with what goes on with someone's mind and body. I've served many in the white, black, latinx, and LGBTQIA+ communities in particular and am half Latina myself and a part of other cultural communities.
I've been practicing CBT for 15 years, it's an evidence based practice that works with a variety of diagnoses/struggles navigating life. I've found that it has great outcomes.
Acceptance Commitment Therapy I've used for the past 10 years and it involves mindfulness and being able to learn how your mind and body reacts and how to cope/sit with certain things that one may not be willing or able to change about oneself currently.
A person's body as many of us know now is very connected to our mental health. We'll use techniques to help control how ones body reacts to environmental factors such as stress for example. I've used this technique with people for around 13 years.
I've been using MI for 20 years. It's something that I incorporate in every type of therapy that I provide by having an safe space to discuss what one wants to talk about.
I have about 7 years of experience providing therapy in this area and have personal experience with is as well. There are certain assessments to see how much it's effecting your life, how much one might be keeping it locked away, and explore what you can do to address triggers.