Luz Cruz

Hi, my name is Luz, my pronouns are she/her/hers, and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). I worked as a teacher for over 15 years before making the journey into a community mental health career. I have experience in mobile crisis response, trauma, forensic mental health concerns. To explain who I am as a therapist, I reflect back to my role as an educator. In the classroom, there was a movement for the teacher to be less of a “sage on the stage” (teacher-centered approach) and more of a “guide on the side” (student-centered). To me, therapy is a lesson plan for a learning experience. It's a guide to develop what the client needs to learn in order to cope with whatever barriers are showing up in the client's life, whether that barrier is an internal issue, such as self-image, or how to cope with work stress. My therapeutic perspective is to provide empathetic, non-judgmental, compassionate guidance and support in an atmosphere of respect and safety while allowing clients to be the experts of their lives, much like “a co-pilot, a sous chef, or an assistant manager” of a client-therapist relationship. I use solution-focused elements to help move toward desired goals, cognitive behavioral techniques to challenge unhelpful thoughts, and motivational interviewing to help gain understanding and clarity. Outside of traditional therapy, I enjoy the practices of mindfulness, guided meditation, aromatherapy, and Reiki. Finding a therapist that's the right fit can be a challenging task, but taking that first step towards a healthier you is worth it. I look forward to working with you to help break down those barriers and make progress in areas that most matter to you.