To keep it short, I help people understand themselves and their situation. I then help them face things that must be faced and use my skills & knowledge to help them learn the skills, methods, and techniques to change and make things better. I am a 43 year old happily married guy with two kids. I love football, the beach, and most active outdoor activities. Before working in the field of mental health I worked as a teacher, elevator constructor, and correctional officer. I have been working in provision of direct care psychotherapeutic services since 2011. What I do is first get to know people and then I use all the knowledge and skills I have attained to help the person UNDERSTAND what the issues are and I help the person develop personalized methods to change things toward the goal of minimizing or eliminating the problem that brings the person to therapy. Things can be many. It can be relationship dynamics, communication styles, behaviors, decision making methods, problematic thinking habits, views and beliefs, Etc. I have formal higher education training with both an M.A. in Clinical (mental health) Social Work and a PhD in Psychology. But, my own readings and most of all my lessons learned through practice have impacted my style and techniques in psychotherapy more then anything.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
Some paperwork is unavoidable. But mostly it s the first step in getting to know YOU. What "professionals" would call assessment. Everything else must wait. If your in a rush we could just pick a tree to bark up at. But, it might not be the right tree.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
A natural skill for understanding people above the shoulders and seeing what must be done. Thirteen years of direct practice have helped me develop my skills. I will add that without any training and knowledge I would not have the proper foundation.
About Duviel Rodriguez
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Licensed in
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Address
10570 South U.S. Highway 1, Port St. Lucie, FL, USA, Suite 300Appointments
Virtual & in-personMy treatment methods
Structural Family Therapy
One year training program and 8 years of practice. I mostly have added SFT ideas to my knowledge base and treatment repertoire. I don't believe in rigidity in treatment as human minds, experiences, and reactions, are not rigid or all the same.
Eclectic
I have developed my own method over my 13 years of practice incorporating much of what I have learned from studies into established psychotherapy techniques/styles and adding things I have learned that work best in practice. I believe in first getting to know your patient and establishing an open rapport and relationship of trust. I call that phase one. If you have that then you can now apply basic cognitive and behavioral techniques. If you don't establish phase one, you are working on the surface and on assumptions. There are some cases that are very simple and straight forward but most are not what they seem on the surface. Cognitions or how we see things and what beliefs we choose to hang on to are often at the core of mental distress and unhelpful/maladaptive behaviors. Behavior is important sometimes as a precursor too, as in some cases we have to start by changing a behavior (regardless of thinking), as changing the behavior makes it much easier later to work on the core cognitions behind the original maladaptive behavior. Sometimes you need to call people out and point out choices in behavior or mental approach. but again nothing is in a bubble there are multiple reasons for everything. You have to know the person and have enough trust and rapport to point out uncomfortable things. There is more, of course. Try me out and see how it goes. If it does not work for you, you have lost nothing other than some time and a copay. But if it does work out you could change your whole life. It can take time especially for patients that are not ready to participate fully and honestly, and open to needed change. But you will know if the rapport and trust is working out in a few sessions, usually. Just remember therapy is a collaborative effort. there are two sides to this and also you will get back as much as you put into the process. Or better said, how fast we get into the real work depends on how open you the patient are ready to be to start.
Motivational Interviewing
Formal MI training at Masters Level and books by William Miller one of the top figures in MI. Again, I mostly have added MI ideas to my knowledge base and treatment repertoire. I don't believe in rigidity in treatment as human minds, experiences, and reactions, are not rigid or all the same.