Hi there, I’m Manny. Are you currently searching for a sense of meaning and purpose in your life? Do you find yourself in an existential/spiritual emergency? Are you exploring your personal identity, expression, or sexuality? I help people of all ages increase self-awareness and decrease symptomology by bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness. Trauma combined with an emotional core (experiences of intense fear/guilt/shame) commonly splinters parts of our personality and represses such into the shadow/unconscious realms of our psyche. In response, many of us have adapted and survived by putting on masks in hopes of fitting in and being accepted by the people around us. Mental health concerns eventually arise because deep in our mind/body/soul we yearn for authenticity/individuation. Clients may also experience suicide ideation and/or self-harm because there are parts of themselves that no longer serve them. Together we can explore which aspects of ourselves to let go, in order to make space for something new to enter. I am a Doctoral Candidate from Pacifica Graduate Institute, my studies focused on Depth Psychology with a specialization in Integrative Therapy and Healing Practices. As a Holistic practitioner, I believe that each individual already possesses what is needed for their healing and it is my duty, as a guiding witness, to help the client navigate, process, and integrate such.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
People commonly believe that mental health concerns are initiated by some kind of negative experience or trauma. However, the stories that we form in response to such events, color the ways in which we see the world. When we focus on the “problem-saturated narratives” of our lives, it is of no surprise that we may experience depression, anxiety, anger issues, attachment issues, personality disorders, relationship problems…etc. As a guiding witness, I will help you deconstruct these harmful narratives and integrate new “preferred-narratives.” We cannot change the events of your past, but we can change the meanings of such experiences in order to reclaim your power/energy.
What treatment methods and tools do you utilize?
Psychodynamic Jungian Archetypal Expressive Arts Somatic Dreamwork/Dream Tending Narrative Therapy Active Imagination Psychedelic Integration Jungian Sandplay Play Therapy
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
As a Queer Latinx cis-gendered-male therapist of color, I am proud to be a representative of my often-marginalized community. Our society operates under certain dominant narratives that often lead to the oppression of marginalized groups on the fringes of society. I will lend my voice to help battle social injustice, one individual at a time.