Thank you for visiting my page! I am Mario, a licensed therapist in Florida. I offer counseling via telehealth and I have flexible hours throughout the week. I have worked in the mental health field since my junior year of college, and I'm not burnt out yet! I find my work rewarding and I look forward to helping you. *I am available many hours throughout the week, but not all of my openings are reflected on my calendar here. If you wish to inquire about session times you don't see listed, please reach out through the Grow Therapy contact line, 646-687-9932.
The feedback I receive most often can be boiled down to "laid back but effective." I let you take things at your own pace and I am extremely non-judgmental. During our first session. I will ask questions to see how I can best help you, but I will also give you space to say anything you need to say - most people come to their first session with a build-up of stress to vent about, and I respect that. While I do find it important to talk about family history and traumatic events, I don't push my clients to speak about anything they are not comfortable telling me. This is your time, and I want you to get the most of what you need out of it.
I am a bit of a "psychology nerd," and I do a lot of research and reading, as well as attending seminars and therapist meet-ups, but I keep knowledge in my back pocket and let therapy sessions revolve around you. I have been told that I blend key concepts and coping skills into what seems like casual conversation. Even if there are topics you are worried about bringing up, you will likely leave our sessions feeling relief, and feeling that you have a plan to manage things moving forward. I also supervise other therapists, and teach psychotherapy in a psychiatry residency program, so I am fairly good with the technical side of therapy as well. If that interests you, I am happy to teach some things as a fun bonus!
Young adults and working professionals, especially those working in healthcare and related fields, as well as college students. Over the years, I have tailored my practice towards those who take care of others, put others first, or put their future first. When I previously rounded on medical floors, I noticed that every hospital patient had one thing in common - they generally put themselves and their current needs last in their daily lives. I like to help people seek balance, and I love working with people who are interested in self-discovery, psychology, and navigating life's many stressors.
CBT is the foundation of most modern therapies, and I incorporate it into almost all of my sessions, as well as into my own personal daily routine. I have studied and taught CBT, and I find it to be wonderfully effective in practice.
Psychodynamic Therapy involves self-discovery and making connections between past experiences and current behaviors, moods, symptoms, thought patterns, etc. It is very possible to do good therapy without looking into one's past, but I find that most of my clients benefit from, and even enjoy, the Psychodynamic approach.
ACT is very helpful for managing pain - emotional and even physical. Acceptance is not compliance, it can actually be quite empowering, as acceptance allows us to live in the real world and to manage our struggles on our own terms.
I use ERP a lot to help with anxiety, unwanted habits, and OCD. It combines elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, with self-paced healthy exposure that is always based on what the client can handle and not meant to overwhelm.
Possibly my favorite, though understandably not for everybody. Existential Psychotherapy explores our own existence and meaning, allowing for examination of difficult or uncomfortable topics, in a supportive therapeutic conversation. This type of therapy can be very rewarding to you, the client, and admittedly to myself as a therapist as well.