We recently connected with Naomi Maza and have shared our conversation below.

Naomi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents came from Peru, leaving behind their own youth, time with their family and friends, and their cultural knowledge. Having to learn about another culture, and all that comes with it, my parents did everything they could with the knowledge that they had to provide for me and my sister. I watched them sit through various English classes, I watched them have their head up when healing through intergenerational trauma, and I watched them learn to ask questions and advocate for themselves when building a small business of their own. My parents have their own separate jobs, but to help with the everlasting finances, they created a small business. I watched as my parents tried to balance everything, along with spending time with the family, and navigating the intricate details of creating a business. While it was successful for a time, it was something that was conditional. I saw it diminish, and yet, I saw the strength within my parents to keep their head up once again. With this, I learned about the importance of constantly learning, being patient, and persevering. It shaped me to become the social worker I am now as I saw all the imperfections that society can bring us and yet there can still be opportunities to build communities of love.

Additionally, because of my parents’ sacrifices and their present openness to talk about their mental health journey, it has created a further burning passion of mine to support others with their sustainability plan in this world. My parents did not know about self-care or mental health needs, which sparked more of my focus in being a mental health therapist. It has also been crucial in my career to embrace my parents’ heritage and provide Spanish services.

My career choices in the helping profession, along with an added component of sustainability in the fashion world, has been fueled by my parents. And thus, I am indefinitely grateful for my mama and papa. As I share with my parent clients, parents are not perfect, just like any other human, AND at the same time, parents are capable of doing the best they can with the knowledge that they have at hand to help mold other beautiful beings.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am an empathetic and lifelong learner in this world who likes to connect with and support others. As a first generation American, I also like to receive support from my loved ones and professional mentors. Resourceful and collaborative are great terms I like to describe myself as being because of the connections I have made throughout life.

Coming from parents who migrated to the US, I lived most of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area in California with the bonus and privilege to travel to Peru every year. I received my undergraduate degrees in criminal justice and social work from San Diego State, and received my graduate degree in social work at Arizona State. I am currently an associate’s licensed mental health therapist practicing in a group private practice in Arizona. I am honored to do this work as it was due to having my own experiences as a child in therapy settings (from family therapy to individual therapy). I wanted to sit on the other side to provide the compassion and empathy I was not ready to receive as a young child. My hopes are that I can continue to stand alongside others in their mental health journeys, while also examining and addressing the limited resources that our communities have.

Outside of work, I have really appreciated clothing for the way it can be used as a creative expressive outlet. This has carried into an additional project that I have as a small business owner. I am able to provide customers with preowned, sometimes vintage or harder to find, clothing. Sometimes I receive donations and can figure out ways to give back by donating it to organizations that support survivors of intimate partner violence. I am also proud of the way my small business can connect to the sustainability of our environment. There is such an extensive amount of clothes that get thrown away, and a lot of the times, this can be decreased by repairing a tiny hole or upcycling a shirt. This can sometimes take time, and it is something that I look at as a way to show gratitude towards the things we have.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As an associate’s licensed therapist, I have learned about the challenges that can create burnout, such as billing issues, bureaucratic differences, and limited support. The long hours and the challenges mentioned started to outweigh the satisfaction. It was a tough decision, but I realized a shift was necessary, not only for my clients, but also for a balance within myself. With a mix of excitement and nervousness, I started exploring opportunities in being a contracted worker in private practice. The skills I gained in my past jobs translated well, and the prospect of having more flexibility and support was energizing. It wasn’t easy, but looking back, that decision feels like the start of a new, more fulfilling chapter.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

So often, we can feel so alone in our fields. Something that I think is most helpful in both fields of mental health and entrepreneurship is collaboration and partnerships. Sometimes we can get pinned against each other, we can be seen as competition if we have similar products or services, or we can just have difference services/products/clients. However, we can also uplift each other. If one has a similar product or service, why not create more conversation/connection over this? I see how entrepreneurs can do this through the creation of markets/fairs for shopped to go to. This can build more of the community, which is crucial in succeeding. We cannot do this by ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://welltherapy.com/