Welcome! I'm DiAna Escamilla. Please take a moment to acknowledge that you have taken the first step towards bettering your mental health—yay! I want to thank you for taking the time to read my profile. I hope my vast experience will be a good fit for you. I have been a licensed professional counselor since 1995 when I retired from the ARMY. I'm a mother of six children and understand the stress of raising children as a single parent. I am bilingual in Spanish and English. I have worked in various settings, collecting a broad range of experience with diverse clients. I strive to create a safe and welcoming environment that allows clients to explore their obstacles to feeling emotionally healthy, and to try to understand and heal the mistreatment they have endured. We can do this in the privacy of my office or virtually.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
Together, we will identify your challenges and goals. Where do you want your life to be in a month, six months, a year from now? Then, we will identify options and strategies you can use to get there. You will leave each session with a better understanding of what you are facing, but with actions you can take right now approach. There will always be room for suggestions concerning our work together, including keeping each other accountable.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I have clinical training and consider myself emotionally healthy. My greatest strength as a provider is I have lived the experiences with the issues I help clients process. I have been a single parent with 4 ADHD boys. I have dealt with grief with the loss of children and husband. I have worked very stressful jobs, creating a lot of anxiety/depression. I have been in unhealthy relationships and understand the difficulties of ending them.
About DiAna Escamilla, Licensed Professional Counselor
DiAna Escamilla, Licensed Professional Counselor offers therapy covered by Medicaid - Superior HealthPlan, Superior HealthPlan (Managed Medicaid) and UnitedHealthcare/Optum - Medicaid in Texas.
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705 West Hopkins Street, San Marcos, TX, USAAppointments
Virtual & in-personMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I have been using CBT since the onset of my practice. CBT is the preferred treatment method for several areas, such as anxiety, depression, anger, family violence, addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, insomnia, and stress. It helps clients challenge their thoughts and recognize how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence each other. That knowledge is used to change thinking patterns.
EMDR
I've been using EMDR for three years with adults and one year with children. EMDR is used to enable clients to heal from symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of traumatic and disturbing life experiences. The process of EMDR allows the brain to do the healing; during the process, negative beliefs are reformulated, and the physiological symptoms are reduced. Through the process, the client will begin to notice the emotional distress is no longer debilitating. The memory of the event is still there, but the emotional distress is eliminated. The client gains cognitive insights and new learning about self.
Child Parent Psychotherapy
I have been using Child-Parent Psychotherapy for 20 years. I trained in the process when I worked for a domestic violence center. CPP is used for children whose families have been through scary or painful events, such as the loss of a loved one, difficult medical procedures, neglect, abuse, or violence at home or in the community. The parent is involved in the therapy process. The goal is to improve the parent-child relationship and eliminate the physiological and emotional difficulties the child is demonstrating.
Play Therapy
I have provided Play Therapy in school settings and private practice for over seven years. The goals of Play Therapy are to help the child develop healthy coping skills, understand their feelings, improve the ability to communicate their needs, learn problem-solving abilities, and build self-esteem.
Psychological Testing And Evaluation
For over seven years, I have provided Cognitive, Achievement, and Behavioral testing and evaluation for children and adults in schools and private practice. Most clients are interested in the identification of learning disabilities or ADHD.