We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maritza P Rodriguez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maritza below.
Maritza, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
The thought about starting my practice began when I was employed as a Social Worker within a school district. I have had over 15 years of experience working within Education in the form of an educator and as a clinical counselor. When the COVID-19 pandemic became a reality, changes became present with funding as students were leaving to stay home and the need to stay home started to become a reality. I felt the need to be more available to students by providing more clinical counseling and decided that it was time to make a change. The pandemic created so much anxiety and depression with children that I thought it would be a good idea to provide services to this population. As such, I made the move to private practice counseling children and adolescents.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
I am a bilingual Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor practicing in Texas (#67510). I earned a Master of Arts in Counseling from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas and currently a doctoral student pursuing a Psy.D. in Behavioral Health Leadership. I have 8 years of experience as a counselor and I am currently a member of the American Counseling Association.
I am passionate about working with school age children. For a combined 15+ years I have worked as an educator and a clinical counselor for school aged students (ages 3-14) in both the public and private sectors. I also have extensive experience with substance abuse counseling and Intensive Outpatient Programs for clients who were court mandated to receive substance abuse treatment.
I conduct individual and group counseling and find that play intervention with my clients is most effective and a passion of mine. It is with hope that I can provide support and hope for those who wish to receive counseling services. My supervision course consisted of a 40-hour Supervisor Training. I became an LPC-S in 2019 and look forward in assisting interns accomplishing a state licensure for an LPC.
I have extensive knowledge working with children who experience anxiety, ODD, depression, anger management, mindfulness practices, and adjustment building (children who have experienced loss of a loved one, divorce, or experience major life changes). I also have 8 years of experience within the public school system and understand the needs some students may experience with classroom accommodations or modifications. I am here to lend a helping hand to assist children in their time of need and allow them to grow and learn during the counseling process.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
I have often thought about this question! If I could go back in time, I would have liked to go into Psychiatry. It’s not too far from the profession I am currently in; however, I love pharmacology and would have enjoyed learning about medications for psychiatric conditions. I realize that I would have had to go to Medical School, but I would have loved this area!
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
I believe that networking and communicating with colleagues is the best part of this occupation. Psychology is a broad study and possesses a vast variety of knowledge. Chatting and communicating with other professionals in the field is both welcoming and satisfying. We all tend to learn something from one another and rely on new information within the field.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/rodriguezmaritzalpc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maeret80
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maritza-p-rodriguez-m-a-lpc-s-380b58102/
- Twitter: @maritza_lpc
Image Credits
Carolyn Ramirez (First Picture)