Balanced Wheel Counseling
Services
Licensed Marriage Family Therapist
I began my career in the mental health field in 1995. Now with over 25 years of experience working with babies to adults and families in various settings, I still find it an honor and joy to witness the personal transformation of my clients.
I provide a warm, safe, and non-judgmental space where children, teens, and adults can reflect on how they are developing and explore what changes they want to create for themselves. I join clients in this journey of creating attainable goals that help find balance and well-being in all areas of one’s life by employing the following therapeutic services: Individual, Families, and Groups. The clinical orientations that I use regularly are (but are not limited to) Internal Family Systems, Experiential, Humanistic, Solution-Focused, Psycho-Education, Play Therapy, and Integrative Therapy.
My approach is individualized, holistic, strength-based, no-nonsense, pragmatic, culturally competent, and client-centered. My approach also involves the use of the Medicine Wheel, a sacred old Native American teaching /concept used to explain life and a means to personal empowerment.
I specialize in treating trauma, stress, mood disorders, grief and loss, adoption, survivors of abuse and neglect, domestic violence, survivors of suicide, attachment-based parenting, and difficult life transitions. I also incorporate ceremony, ritual, and rites of passage into my work with clients of all ages. Since the Pandemic, I have utilized and offer Telehealth Services which are therapeutic services offering a real-time face-to-face interactive exchange that can be accessed virtually using a HIPAA secure Telehealth platform called Doxy.me
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
Infant-Family & Early Childhood Mental Health Specialists are highly-trained professionals with specialized knowledge about childhood development, the effects of stress and trauma on families, and the importance of attachment for young children. As an IFECMH Specialist I may:
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Take a developmental perspective
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Observe and engage caregivers in the child's development
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Focus on the interaction between infants and caregivers
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Engage in reflective practices for self-awareness and in supervision
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Provide screening, assessment, and clinical therapeutic intervention
Infant and early childhood mental health consultation is an evidence-based service in which early childhood mental health professionals partner with the adults in young children’s lives to build their capacity to foster healthy social and emotional development and relational health.
Cultural Practitioner
I started walking the Red Road in my early twenties. I continue to learn from, heal from, and practice plant medicine and traditional Native American ceremonies. I am also an artisan of various sacreds and regalia used for ceremonial purposes. My Mexican American and Native American ancestry greatly influence my holistic approach to healing and wellness. I incorporate the teachings and wisdom of my elders, teachers, mentors, and ancestors in my therapeutic work. One particular teaching tool I utilize is the medicine wheel.
The Medicine Wheel (sacred hoop) emphasizes a holistic approach to understanding oneself and maintaining a balanced, fulfilling lifestyle. The medicine wheel teachings are among the oldest teachings of the First Nations people of North America. It is uncertain as to when the medicine wheel began to appear in Native American Culture except to say that some of the wheels discovered date back two to four thousand years BC. Elders and ancestors teach us that the Medicine Wheel is an important guide and powerful healing tool that helps us conceptualize our life journey.