We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Susana Marroquin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Susana below.
Susana , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
The defining moment in my professional career was when I experienced my own battle with postpartum depression and anxiety. I felt extremely lost and alone without any guidance or support. I came to the realization, when I was struggling to find support, that there is a gap in mental health services that specialize in these issues. That led me to shift my practice specialty and create a space that provided services and resources for Latinx mamas in English/Spanish to support their motherhood journey.
I immediately shifted the focus of my practice and began creating support groups, doing community outreach and catering my services to mamas needing one on one support or group support. Language and finances would not be a barrier to the mamas I was servicing because I wanted my practice to provide those services and help as many mamas as I could.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a 43 year old Central American, divorced single mama of an 8 year old son. My roots are El Salvador and Guatemalan. I was born and raised in LA and I am a huge Laker and Dodger fan. I am an only child who enjoys traveling, reading, dancing and being in nature at the beaches or hiking. I am very passionate about creating change, outspoken, extroverted and take pride in being a clinician that will be empathic yet hold someone accountable to help the person reach the best version of themself.
I became interested in becoming a therapist when my father was diagnosed with kidney failure while I was a sophomore in high school. I had a great support system at the time at school of counselors and teachers and it opened up my mind to how great it would be to work with others one day where I could help create change or be part of their support system.
I provide individual therapy for adults, teens and children, couples therapy and specialize in working with women navigating their self discovery process or mamas needing support through their parenting journey.
What I believe sets me apart from others is that I look like those seeking my services, speak their language, represent their stories and struggles and I am transparent with my story. I am very proud of what my work, practice and brand have achieved yet I am continuing to work on being able to provide more services at a larger scale.
I want those reading this to know that my work is my passion because it comes from the heart. I see myself in everyone who comes through my door whether is a mama, a Latina women looking to better herself, a first generation student struggling with differentiating themselves from their family of origin, or someone just speaking Spanish who looks like me. I get a sense of fulfillment knowing that the work I do is bridging a gap in a community that so much needs these services and knowing that there are other mamas out there that won’t feel alone or be afraid to ask for help, makes my work that much more worthwhile.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
My father passed away when my son was 14 months old. I was in the trenches of postpartum depression and anxiety. His loss made me spiral out of control and I fell into a deeper depression and the darkest moment of my life. Having a toddler to raise, supporting my mother who was grieving and mourning my father was very challenging for me. A lot of times I felt lost, alone, scared and had thoughts of suicide. At the same time, my marriage was unhealthy and falling apart before my eyes. I was experiencing multiple losses and feeling a lot of hurt.
I spent two years and a half in my dark period but I knew I had to seek help because my son needed me and he became my life support. He gave me a second chance of life when I knew that my purpose and my why was him. I fought hard to get myself out of the dark place I was in. I went to therapy every week for two years without a break. I began to feel motivated to work on myself and get back to my career. I wrote my dreams, goals and ideas out every night and I connected with mentors, friends and my family to help me start what is now Wellness Para La Mama.
I began to let go of my unhealthy marriage and looked forward to the changes that my life was embarking on. I leaned into my healing, my growth and my son to find my resilience to create something that would be symbolic and meaningful to me.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn is feeling the need to control everything. I have pretty much been a controlling person in my personal life and career but when I faced my own demons and lost my father I realized I was not in control.
Being in this field of work, control is not what is going to make you successful. Yes I can control my own actions, thoughts, behaviors and words but no one else’s. Losing my father, my marriage, my own self identity while starting my practice and building something reminded me daily that I was not in control the way I thought or wanted to be. I needed to be able to ask for help and allow others to support me. I needed to be ok with being ok and not having the answers for everything.
As my marriage came to an end, my practice grew and I got out of my dark hole, I embraced my new life and my son with so much more compassion, grace and less control. I worked hard in releasing the expectations of control and embraced being in the moment and letting it flow. I learned to let go of the need to control and opened my mind and heart to being present, grounded and calm.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wellnessparalamama.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/wellnessparalamama
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/wellnessparalamama
Image Credits
Rachel Carillo