My name is Erin Mendoza. I received my Master's Degree in Professional Counseling in 2007 from Texas State University in San Marcos, Tx. I have been providing counseling services since 2007.
I am a trauma-informed provider and since 2001 I have worked with families that have experienced trauma.
I have extensive experience working with people who are struggling with life changes, anxiety, depression, anger, parenting challenges and trauma.
I believe in meeting you where you are as everyone is unique. My passion is helping people understand themselves better and helping them make positive progress in their life.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our initial session I will want to find out why you are seeking therapy, what your concerns are and what you want to work on. I will also ask some questions about your history and current social environment. From there we will decide what therapy technique(s) will work best for you. We will usually meet for about 40-55 minutes once a week.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
One of my strengths is working with people who are experiencing anxiety, depression and PTSD. I help clients better understand their mental health and work with them to process what is causing their distress and learn skills to continue to care for their mental health in the future.
Another strength is working with parents to create a nurturing environment for themselves and their children.
About Erin Mendoza
Appointments
Virtual
My treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT can help you decrease anxiety, stress, and anger and improve how you feel about yourself, and improve your interactions with others. I will work with you on identifying negative thinking so you can view situations more clearly and respond to situations in a more effective way. We will also work on practicing healthy coping skills and establishing healthy boundaries for yourself.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
In DBT the focus is on developing mindfulness skills, healthy coping skills and healthy self care skills. Mindfulness is important because it helps you learn to be aware of your thoughts, feelings, senses, and impulses while also being aware of what is going on around you. These skills helps you slow down so that you can use healthy coping skills instead of engaging in impulsive behavior or getting stuck in negative thoughts. The skills you learn can help improve your ability to effectively regulate your emotions, improve your self esteem and improve relationships. Some of the areas we can work on include: self awareness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, being assertive, healthy communication, establishing boundaries, and respecting yourself and others.
Trauma Informed Care
I recognize that trauma can impact all areas of a person's life. Depending on your individual needs we may begin with processing what happened, or first work on building positive self worth, or begin with developing healthy coping skills. We will work together based on your needs and your strengths so that you can heal.
Psychoeducation
Nurturing Families Program TM – “is a family centered trauma informed approach to build nurturing parenting skills". Nurturing Families Program covers different areas including: recognizing individual differences, the importance of self care and appropriate expectations for your self and your children, teaching empathy and building self worth, raising grateful children, developing house rules and expectations, discipline, steps to helping keep kids drug free, keeping children safe from abuse and neglect.
