LCSW, 12 years of experience
I am a Hispanic LCSW from Los Angeles who's been providing mental health services with up 12 years of experience. My experience includes working with people who have been suffering from anxiety, depression, psychosis, mood disorders, personality disorders, LGBTQIA2-S, homelessness, foster-care, and substance use issues. Most of my experience couples counseling, family therapy, individual therapy, group therapy, adolescence, children, learning disabilities, adults, and older adults.
I think it's important to get to know each other to allow a space that can be comfortable for the client, I will then ask many questions in the first appointment as it's usually an intake, make sure the person is comfortable to ask me any questions should the person have any and explore what next steps will be taken to decrease the persons well-being by exploring a future goal in treatment.
Well I think a few of my strengths include that I think it's important to be cordial to others, ask how someones day is going, and as a Latino male who grew up in a low-income neighborhood it taught me how to look at life objectively, to learn about others and especially if one works hard to reach a goal they can do it.
My dream client is a person who is motivated to come in the session to explore how they're feeling and why and to potentially in the future problem-solve together on how we will work on decreasing the mental health symptoms to improve the individual's life in any shape or form.
In CBT therapy it is important to identify thoughts, feelings and actions associated with a patient's current coping and to problem-solve together in sessions on effective methods or techniques to reduce the mental health symptoms.
This approach is to work with a child or adolescent to explore techniques to reduce mental health symptoms with structure. The structure in sessions allows the child or adolescent how to practice techniques that can be effective utilizing visuals to maintain the client's attention. Additionally, this approach allows the child or adolescent to develop rapport in treatment and to slowly explore any identifiable trauma or traumas. Toward the end of therapy techniques will be reviewed, parents will definitely be involved in the process to ensure that child or adolescent practices the techniques practiced in sessions and once the patients symptoms decrease exploring how ending therapy can look like in the future.
It is important to give the individual space to discuss his/her/their grief in feelings and thoughts. When the person has provided ample space to discuss their grief the next steps entail how to problem-solve to reduce any mental health symptoms and what can be done outside of sessions to ensure the person's well-being is maintained.
This treatment is about exploring pros and cons with possible substance use or any issues arising in the persons life. The next step would include how to identify what next steps would be suitable for the patient and gain insight what is most helpful for the individual.
It is important that a couple come into treatment ready to do the work together, assess if couples therapy is appropriate or not and if couples counseling is recommended then we would problem-solve together with identifying an effective technique that the couple would practice outside of sessions. We would explore healthy vs. unhealthy dynamics that involve a couple, point out ineffective methods utilized in the relationship of the couple and how to resolve any issues.