Today we’d like to introduce you to Dulce Orozco

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

I am from Venezuela but have spent most of my life in Massachusetts, United States.
When I moved here after getting a college scholarship as a seventeen-year-old international student, I was extremely naïve. I worshipped the United States and thought that everything here was perfect. Little by little, I became a follower and stopped following my intuition.
Adding my immigration status complicated the situation since that reduced my working options, and I truly believed that I needed to stay where I was even though it was not a good place.
I can now see things differently after giving myself permission to ask for help and support along the way and to welcome uncertainty. Becoming a mom made me want to show my daughters what is possible as a Latina immigrant. I am trying to create a business that provides my family and me with what we need, and even though it’s been a whole adventure, I am proud of what I have done.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

It has been a smooth road at times, but there have been plenty of bumps along the way. I did not treat my private practice as a small business when I started.
The story I told myself, believing that things are not easy for a Latina Immigrant business owner trying to do things differently as a mental health provider, did not help me. I know that it is a fact that mental health is not as prioritized as we need it to be, especially among people of color and Latinx; however, I also know that I need to create and believe in a different story and need to surround myself among people that can show me a different story through their actions because otherwise, the road can get so bumpy that is easy to give up.

As you know, we’re big fans of Latina Immigrant Therapist LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and the founder of Latina Immigrant Therapist. I work with people of color and from immigrant families in 1:1 therapy and group settings, assisting them in honoring their uniqueness and full potential, prioritizing culture and mental health.
I co-create safe spaces for us to have meaningful conversations that may not be as easy but can remind us that we are not alone and that it is okay to ask for help. As Latinx and immigrants, so many of us have normalized so many of the difficult things we go through daily

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?

I really don’t know. After COVID, there was a lot of attention to mental health. Many companies were making sure that the employees had the services they needed and were trying to prioritize DEI. However, that stopped to the point where some of these initiatives were drastically reduced or eliminated.
At the same time, younger generations are much more open to asking for help and receiving mental health services. Unfortunately, there do not seem to be enough bilingual and multicultural clinicians available.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dulceorozco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latinaimmigranttherapist/