We recently connected with Linda Ruvalcaba and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Linda, thanks for joining us today. What was your school or training experience like? Share an anecdote or two that you feel illustrate important aspects or the overall nature of your schooling/training experience.

In the summer of 2014, I did a two-week study abroad program in Vienna, Austria. I was studying Dream Analysis and Existential Analysis at the Sigmund Freud University. It was an experience that changed my life for the better. The previous year, I had gotten divorced and moved to Los Angeles to return to school for a PsyD in Clinical Psychology. While my year in LA was a beautiful time of exploration, I didn’t have much direction in life beyond that PsyD program. The first day of the Existential Analysis class, Dr. Längle, who exuded warmth and care, spoke of inner consent and saying yes to life. As he explained these concepts, I felt like he took my life as a neat stack of papers and threw them up into the air.

Studying for those two weeks in Austria, was an experiential process, as we spoke about our own experiences in class. I spoke with Dr. Längle about life post-divorce and feeling lost and dissatisfied with my doctoral program. By the end of those two weeks, I returned to LA to complete my finals for that semester, followed by withdrawing from the program. I found that I wasn’t really getting what I was looking for from the school I was attending and I had found a different way to learn that resonated more with me. Not only did I drop that program, but I also returned home to Phoenix. I intended to finish accruing my clinical hours to obtain my independent Counseling license before then moving to Vienna. Sadly, I found that becoming a licensed therapist in Austria was going to be very difficult for me so I had to make peace with letting go of that dream. In the end, I came to love Phoenix and found the beauty in the desert landscape. Now I’m enrolled in the first US-based Existential Analysis program, overseen by Dr. Längle and absolutely loving it,

Linda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Linda Ruvalcaba and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Phoenix, Arizona. I am the owner of Therapy Girl LLC, my full-time private practice where I provide telehealth counseling services. I specialize in anxiety, trauma, and grief, as well as in working with first-gen folks, the Latinx community, activists, and community leaders. Having my own practice has been a lifelong dream, even before I really decided to be a therapist. I grew up in a border town, where mental health wasn’t discussed. I didn’t really know what a therapist was but I had an idea that helping others was something I was meant to do. Even after receiving my Master’s in Counseling and working in the mental health field, I didn’t believe it was possible to have my own practice until I was much, much older. My understanding of where I could take my career was due to the lack of representation of Latinx therapists in the mental health field, let alone in private practice.

Once I became a solo practitioner, I made it a point to reach out to other Latinx therapists to get to know others I could refer to and with whom to connect. From this, came the idea of starting a monthly networking meeting for Latinx therapists to gather and build community in a safe space. I started this group in January 2020, moved to the virtual world that March, and it continues today with over 90 members from around the world. I am most proud of this achievement, as I often receive heartwarming feedback about how meaningful this group has been to others. I have been able to make some wonderful friends from this group, as we empower one another in our endeavors. It brings me so much joy to hear my colleagues speak of how they are facing their imposter syndrome and reaching for their goals and dreams.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Besides training and knowledge, I believe it is incredibly important for a therapist to do their own work — meaning, go to therapy. It sounds obvious but I have found that this isn’t every therapist’s journey. Going to therapy was the best advice I received in the first day of class for my PsyD program. It is quite unfortunate that self-exploration is not a requirement in many of these counseling related programs. Learning more about myself by engaging in my own therapy, helps me to show up as a more empathic and understanding therapist for my clients. Now, whenever I learn a new technique or form of therapy, I find my own therapist who practices this in order to experience it as a client and not just as a therapist. I find this makes explaining the process much easier, as I know firsthand how it is to process with these techniques.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn what it means to be “productive.” I spent much of my career working in community mental health, where we were pushed to meet unrealistic productivity numbers. I worked a 4/10 schedule — 10 hour days, 4 days a week. This meant I had to schedule 10 clients a day in order to meet the productivity expectations for where I worked. I was burned out, anxious, and miserable. Once I went into my own practice full-time, I had to learn how to refocus my energy on doing quality work and not focus on the quantity. I knew that by focusing on the quality of my work, I would also be refocusing on myself. I had to learn how to say no to working with potential clients that didn’t align with my specializations. I learned to say no to work too late and too early. Now I have a wonderful schedule of only seeing clients Monday – Wednesdays, which allows me to fully recharge my batteries before the next work week. I learned to reframe weeks of low client attendance or appointments scheduled as a gift of time for myself. I know in my heart that more clients are around the corner and I can appreciate the breaks when I get them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.therapygirlaz.com
• Instagram: @therapy.girl
• Facebook: facebook.com/therapygirlaz
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/linda-ruvalcaba

Image Credits
Meredith Comfort Taegan Elmer