Spanish Speaking Therapist

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Do cultural challenges, new changes, or past pains keep you stuck in a cycle of worry and self-doubt? Has a recent move or transition caused you to feel alone and disconnected?  Are you searching for support from someone who shares your language and culture?

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Whether you grew up here or have recently immigrated to the US, cultural identity issues and linguistic barriers can affect your quality of life. You may be feeling isolated by your experience, far away from loved ones, or struggling to make connections with others. Instead of sharing your emotions, you may be more comfortable hiding your pain. 

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Avoiding your feelings can cause you to become numb, anxious, and depressed. You may have noticed symptoms such as intense worry, overwhelm, and a lack of energy creeping into your life and affecting your routine. It’s possible you distract yourself from your emotions by focusing all of your energy on your work, withdrawing from your environment, or numbing yourself with substances. 

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Communication Barriers May Be Jeopardizing Your Ability To Connect With Others 

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When struggling with low motivation and a lack of self-esteem, your sense of confidence can falter. Preoccupied with what others think, you may avoid social situations and engaging with the people around you—even those you love most. You want to improve your communication skills and see your relationships thrive, but you just don’t know how to overcome the obstacles keeping you stuck. 

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Working with a professional who understands the personal and cultural challenges you face can help. As a Latino, Spanish-speaking therapist, Rafael Harrington is here to offer you support, perspective, and skills-building on the path to healing. 

Though mental health struggles can be isolating, the truth is that these issues are common across the globe. It’s estimated that one in four adults living in the US suffers from a mental health condition, which can include depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. But due to factors like stigma and lack of resources, many people do not realize that treatment exists.

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There are a variety of reasons why mental health disorders develop. Plenty of evidence suggests that common conditions like depression and anxiety have genetic roots, but life circumstances can also significantly impact our mental health. When faced with painful experiences and adversity, we are likely to develop feelings of grief and low self-esteem. Even welcomed changes, such as a big move, career change, marriage, or addition to the family, can throw us off balance and add to our stress. 

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For immigrant communities, in particular, these changes often involve cultural challenges that intensify our symptoms. Faced with the added pressure of balancing cultures, family, work, and linguistic barriers, we are likely overwhelmed by everyday responsibilities. And as our relationships begin to suffer, we lose hope that relief exists.  

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Issues Of Stigma And Cultural Identity Can Prevent Some Communities From Getting The Help They Need

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Though we are chipping away at the stigma of therapy within the Latinx community, there is a pervasive idea that treatment for depression and anxiety is for the weak or unstable. After all, we are raised with values of strength, self-reliance, and family, and it can be hard to admit that we need outside support and perspective. 

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Working with a Spanish-speaking therapist offers you the best of both worlds. Using our shared language and cultural experiences, I customize counseling in a way that honors your life’s unique transitions, promotes stress management, and improves communication skills in your relationships. 

Whether you’re adapting to a new culture, struggling in your relationships, or lacking in self-esteem, you probably don’t get many opportunities to feel safe to express your emotions and experiences freely. In the nonjudgmental atmosphere of therapy, we can work together to clarify your needs and goals to improve your quality of life. 

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My approach to therapy for Spanish speakers emphasizes the importance of the client-counselor relationship. As a Latinx individual, I recognize that certain linguistic and cultural barriers have impacted your sense of communication and connection. But I hope to provide empathetic and aware support as you explore your emotions. With the insights you gain in counseling, you will be able to address issues of self-esteem, cultural identity, and relationship challenges at their core. 

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What To Expect In Counseling

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The first session of therapy typically lasts about one hour and will be spent getting to know more about your goals for treatment, any symptoms of depression or anxiety you may have, and your background and identity as Latinx. During this time, you will also have a chance to ask me questions and learn more about how working with a Spanish-speaking therapist honors your unique experience. 

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An essential part of therapy is getting you to a place where you can recognize the active role you have in problem-solving and stress management. To do this, we will use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to examine your behaviors together and explore how they might be adversely impacting your outlook. And the Motivational Interviewing counseling technique can help us learn more about your strengths and focus on the resilience that allowed you to adapt to adversity and life transitions in the past. You will also learn beneficial mindfulness skills for targeting symptoms when they arise. 

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​Growth and positive change are not always easy, but they are always possible. Though you feel alone and hopeless now, a Spanish-speaking therapist can walk alongside you on your journey, offering encouragement, affirmation, and healing. Together, we can move closer toward your goals. 

I’m from a Latinx family that doesn’t go to counseling—they’ll think I am crazy for seeing a therapist. 

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It is a myth that someone seeking therapy is “crazy.” In fact, therapy is a mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy choice to make. We all have a story to tell and a desire to be heard. Counseling is a common and normal way for people to receive assistance in processing the ups and downs of life transitions. By exploring past struggles and strengthening communication skills in counseling, your outlook, relationships, and self-esteem will improve.  

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Working with a Spanish-speaking therapist online won’t help me. 

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Sometimes, being in the middle of a struggle creates tunnel vision, making it hard for us to see our way out. I understand that cultural challenges, life transitions, and symptoms of depression and anxiety have caused you to feel alone. But research shows that therapy is beneficial for most people, even if they are hopeless or in severe emotional pain. Not to mention, online therapy is equally as effective as in-person counseling. By speaking with a therapist in your native Spanish language, you can fully conceptualize your struggles and gain culturally aware perspective so that you can start to experience more hope and optimism. 

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I’m afraid to commit to therapy; I don’t have the time. 

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Therapy can definitely be a commitment, but I try to make this process as accessible and sustainable as it can be. Therapy sessions last about 50 minutes and are designed to work at your pace, which means that you can schedule sessions to be biweekly or monthly as you see a reduction in symptoms. It’s my goal to get you to a place where your stress management and communication skills can be applied outside of therapy so that you notice a significant improvement in your quality of life. In addition, because I am an online Spanish-speaking therapist, counseling with me removes the hassle of a commute.