51. Inclusivity and Advocacy for Hispanic Mental Health and Wellness with Ana Marcela Rodriguez, MS, LMFT

When Ana Marcela Rodriguez stepped into the role of a bilingual therapist, she carried with her not just her professional expertise but the personal narrative of her own therapeutic journey that began in her teens in Mexico. On the Telewellness Hub podcast, we're thrilled to welcome her back as she passionately shares how language and culture can deeply enrich the therapeutic bond, offering a heartfelt perspective on why these elements are crucial for effective counseling within the Hispanic community. As she opens up about her path to becoming a media advocate, challenging stigmas and striving for more accessible mental health resources, you'll feel inspired by her dedication to change.

Our conversation takes a turn to spotlight the intricate dance between mental health professionals and the media, where I offer a glimpse into the complexities of sharing psychological insights on the latest news stories. But it's not just about the individual; we also discuss the power of building professional networks, drawing from the vibrant monthly Grapevine event that unites clinicians and allies. By fostering these connections, we're not only enhancing our own growth but actively contributing to a supportive community that's committed to advancing the mental health landscape. Join us as we explore how collaboration and visibility are key to building trust and instigating progress within the Hispanic community and beyond.

Connect with Ana and her clinicians:
https://therapyworkscounseling.com/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi, my name is Liz and I'm one of the founding members of the let's Talk About it conference, an Atlanta-based conference led by experts in queer and trans clinical care. The conference, taking place on March 14th and 15th and offered in-person and virtually, was born from our experiences with continuing education about working with queer and trans folks as affirming clinicians. We often left these spaces wanting more. Topics covered include ethics and ethical liberation, parenting and nonmonogamy, and more. To register, please visit Let'sTalkAboutItConcom and we hope to see you there.

Speaker 2: 0:37

Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Telewon is Hub podcast. I'm Marta Hamilton, your host, and today we get to speak with a repeat guest, if you haven't listened, on June 27th 2023, I spoke with our guest today, anna Marcela Rodriguez, and we get to speak to her again today, for those who are listening for the first time. She's a licensed marriage family therapist. She has her group practice therapy works, counseling around the Dallas Fort Worth area, where her all Hispanic and bilingual group serves children, teenagers, adults, couples and families in Spanish and English. She's trying to EMDR has extensive experience in trauma, grief and fidelity, relationship conflicts, anxiety and depression.

Speaker 2: 1:22

Her focus has always been in the mental health in the Hispanic community, which has made her one of the strongest leaders and advocates for mental health in this community and I loved getting to talk to her about that last time. And she has even been invited as a keynote speaker for the adolescent symposium, the annual conference, the TAMFT annual conference, smu Hispanic Summit, the TWU, twu BIPOC panel, the UNT multicultural panel, different ISDs across the Metroplex in the Dallas area, among other companies that are interested in learning about mental health in the Hispanic community, and she's currently serving as an expert in international TV networks such as TV. So it is an honor that you get to be here with us today and share with us, our listeners on the telewomeness podcast, a little bit about your wisdom, your expertise.

Speaker 3: 2:18

So thank you for coming back on Thank you so much for inviting me once again. I love being in your space and with your community and I hope to share something that is valuable for all the people that are listening to us oh, I'm sure you will, because it was really on my end.

Speaker 2: 2:39

I get to see where people are downloading from and on the last time you're at the globe the world. So it's really neat to see these conversations, how they can make an impact in not just our immediate communities and we're both in Texas. I don't always get to interview people who are in the same state as me, but not just in our immediate communities or even state level, but nationwide and even beyond. So I'm so grateful to talk to you a little bit today about the mental health community. Last time the episode was called Empowering Healthier and Happier Lives Hispanic Mental Health, and today I want to dive into a little bit about your training and your experience, but especially now your visibility and the relentless I don't want to say relentless, but just your dedicated commitment to bringing up important topics about Hispanic mental health to make many communities and even especially in the media. So you're an expert in TV networks and I want to talk about that. But first, why do you do the wellness work that you do?

Speaker 3: 3:59

I do it because it's dear to my heart. I love being a therapist, helping people, but my journey started with me looking for help right. I was a young teenage girl the first time that I visited psychologists in Mexico, where I was born and raised, and I felt in love with that space that my therapist provided for me the guidance, the reassurance, the validation. I felt that I had someone in my corner where I didn't have that outside that room. So that was my first time that I had this meeting with therapy right, my first glance at the therapy world. I was 13 back then and my friends were divorcing. We have a lot of chaos in my family and it was a strong foundation, the therapy that I was provided. And then fast forward to when I had to make a decision of what I want to study. I knew it. I knew it that I want to become a therapist as well. And then I had to move to the US because of my husband's work and I knew I wanted to continue to do this work. But first I wanted to find my own therapist and it was very difficult back then. So 10 years ago there weren't as many bilingual, multicultural, native Spanish clinicians, at least in Texas. Nowadays we have found that that's changing. We have more variety, more representation, but 10 years ago it was very difficult. So I wanted to be that person for someone like me and that's how my journey started.

Speaker 3: 6:12

When I graduated and I did my internship, I was in Frisbee in the counseling area and then I went to private practice and I saw that it wasn't great need and that people were looking for people like them where they can trust. And I was reminded of myself when I was 13 and I needed that help and I got it. So I wanted to be that and I became that and I feel much more comfortable speaking Spanish. I know my culture, so for me it was something very natural. It's like this is me, like this is Anna Marcela.

Speaker 3: 7:02

I speak like my client will tell you, like I'm very direct in the way that I do therapy. I think that's part of my personality, part of my culture. So I think we have a very strong rapport, a very strong sense of connection, which it's that it is what makes the difference. Now we know, with studies that support these, that what truly makes a change and a difference in counseling successful is this connection with your therapist, and I think there's no other way that you will have a connection with someone other than being yourself. And I am myself in the therapy room and I and I give that to my, to my clients, and, and since then it has been truly my mission to help as many people as we can. And it at first it was just me and I knew that on my own I could just reach so many people. And that's how I start thinking okay, what if I get to know other clinicians like me and I, and I invite them to join me in this mission and fast forward to today. We are 30 plus native Spanish speakers.

Speaker 2: 8:32

That's incredible. Congratulations. Yes, thank you.

Speaker 3: 8:36

Now we're practicing and and and. What hold us together is that our passion and mission to help our community in in Texas, in the DFW specifically, where we have some locations. But we want to provide that and we know, and I know firsthand, that dealing with the mental health issue it can get very long. You can, you can be very lonely. So having that support and someone that understand you makes a difference.

Speaker 2: 9:16

Yeah, I love that you share your story because I think oftentimes I know we get training and we're passionate about education, but there, when there's your heart and and this intention to connect, and especially you know stories like yours where you had such an empowering experience yourself with therapy and wanting to be that light for someone else, it really shows in in the passion as a motivator and purpose in our work. So I think that's wonderful. You know, I, I, I want to dive in. You know we talked about UC clients all over Texas.

Speaker 2: 9:55

I remember that, which is important because, yes, I think there's more availability for clinicians that we feel to find a therapist who, who I, understand us or our culture, or be able to speak in our native language, like our feelings, our thoughts come out naturally, sometimes in our dominant language.

Speaker 2: 10:13

So being able to even have that option is huge in therapy, so you can be yourself and navigate all of that. But I, I wonder too, there's a lot of areas in Texas that maybe don't have access, so I think it's wonderful that you're creating online options for them and a sense of community, even virtually Right. I think that's, that's something important, and I want to dive into the work that you're doing for the Hispanic community through media because I right now there's a lot about immigration specifically in the media and I'm wondering this is veering a little bit away from the clinical work, but just I'm curious about your experience as an expert in these networks, which is univision ante el mundo. Has it influenced your understanding of the portrayal of immigration in the media, with your clinical background and the clients that you see that might be dealing with stressors directly related to immigration?

Speaker 3: 11:19

Yes, I mean just to tell you a little bit more about me. I love the cameras, I love public speaking. I think if my first option wasn't being a psychotherapist, I think I will be in some no way or something. I just the media. So for me it's like two dreams in one that have come true to me. It feels very natural for me to be in front of cameras or recording and all of these things, and I also love writing. So we also do a lot of blogs and I am one of the therapists that participates the most in our blogs and I write in a variety of topics on mental health and I think people like that and they appreciate it and that they like what I put out into the world and in the media.

Speaker 3: 12:27

To answer your question, I think it makes it more real because you are experiencing and knowing about stories that are happening in the present moment and in the mass. You know it's not only in our micro place in DFW. These are, these are stories that happen in the world. So having an opinion from that psychology world into what's happening, I think it has been a great honor for me to my expertise into that, and it is. It has also forced me to be always researching and learning, because before I talk about a specific topic or give my opinion on a news that is happening, I make my research right and I have to have an understanding. So I I try to be well in form of the message that I'm, that I'm giving what what happened is usually you know it's very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very real.

Speaker 3: 13:49

Contact me, like Marcella, can you give us that your expert opinion on these news that is happening and I have? It is a full time job, like I have it to do it like at that moment they don't have a lot of time because the news is airing the same days. It's just like one hour ahead of the time that I'm recording or sometimes I do it live and that's how it has been working and it's started well. It started years ago but now it's it's more like a full time job that I do. I record probably like five Nails per week, sometimes more.

Speaker 2: 14:37

Wow, wow, yeah. You're really advocating, then, for, and having a voice for, our community. That's incredible.

Speaker 3: 14:47

Yeah, yeah, and it is something that I really enjoy. As I said, I have recorded when I mean I have recorded when I'm on vacations, I have stopped in the middle of the road driving to some places to record for the news. I have recorded. I remember one that it was my birthday and I was like makeup and everything and the report is like where are you Now, like I'm outside my birthday party, like recording for you. So I have done it like everywhere and it is, I mean, if you like it, like I like it, right, it is very nice. And it is also very nice when people will recognize you right In the community, like I'm seeing you in the news, and I think it also builds trust because they start seeing me sometimes more frequently and they listen to the message that I have, even in the advices or my opinion on certain topics, and that builds trust and makes them sometimes want to make an appointment with me or our group.

Speaker 2: 16:15

Yes, no, absolutely. Credibility and approachability, right, I think there's a lot of. There could be stigma, but if, wow, like here's my therapist speaking, I get to see them on my TV and here she is talking about a topic and has done research and it's credible and it's conversational, right, when you're in the media and I think that creates it, breaks down barriers, I'm sure to like, okay, therapy is like this thing that happens. I have like it's secretive but like no, here you are as a therapist, speaking out to the world and it being celebrated for you as an expert. I think that's incredible. For also just the stigma portion in the mental health community, I wonder, from the opposite side, when it comes to you know you're such an advocate for mental health in the Hispanic community what role do you believe that media can play in shaping perceptions and fears related to immigration? Like, how do you, how do you think this impacts mental health?

Speaker 3: 17:25

Well, I think sometimes the media I mean it's part of their job to sell a news right, sell the news to make it where people want to engage and watch the news they inflate some news. Sometimes they are very gory, right or like, and sometimes there's no need to do that. But I understand that also it's part of their business, like we understand that these TV networks and these news networks are a business and that sometimes they cross these lines. And for me I want to be perceived as like I'm just asked to give my expert opinion on certain topics. It's not necessarily that I'm okay with how they present certain news or that I'm okay on showcasing, you know, certain images or or like that, and that's, I think, one of the most difficult parts.

Speaker 3: 18:44

Sometimes they have asked me to give my personal or my professional opinion, because it's every, it's every time my professional opinion, but sometimes with the tendency of like this way and I have to say like on that way, because I know that I have an ethical and moral obligation to my license that I uphold and into my community. So I have had, why I have had say no to to some locations, usually these networks that I work with and the news programs that I work with and the programs they have already. They already know me and they know my standards and they are very respectful of that. I work a lot with certain reporters and and now we have our relationship, so they know me and respect me.

Speaker 2: 19:56

It sounds like that, that you have your in established relationship with them and I'm sure that that is something to be conscious of, of the professional versus personal perspective or opinion, but keeping it really professional and giving your expert opinion, an expert opinion, out like your emotional opinion or your personal opinion. I just love how you're. I, before I hit record, I mentioned that I have seen Anna my solicitors first reporting. I've been seeing her in different media sources myself and I thought, oh my gosh, there she is, like how amazing. I just love, I love that and I love that you're.

Speaker 2: 20:35

You're making an effort to spread awareness, to advocate and also connect, like even now as colleagues for for this podcast. So I know you're you're starting to do some, some networking, some conferences, connecting. How are you helping to advocate as as a group, with other clinician, with other mental health, because I think that's a big part of advocacy is to really I think there's power in that night and I hear you really making an effort to to do that, to amplify voices and to come together. Tell me a little bit about that work.

Speaker 3: 21:14

Yeah, so we have been doing the BIPOC networking and CU event in the DFW area since last year, so this is our second year where we connect with mental health people from the BIPOC community or allies of the BIPOC community and we network. We have speakers on on topics of cultural diversity and and I think it has been great because we cannot do this alone there's that Hispanic community in the US is the majority minority community we are. I think last time that I checked, I don't know, it was around like 30 million of Hispanics, so that's a huge number and that's a lot of people to serve and my, your practice we're 30, so we will not be able to serve, like not even you know, the other millions of people. Yes, exactly. So I'm always looking for other clinicians or people interested in in in the mental health To help our community, because there's a lot of me.

Speaker 3: 22:41

I just today I was recording to Podcast with some lawyers. I have a very good relationship with lawyers around the area because of the psychological evaluation for immigration that are with you and we were talking about the impact of mental health in immigrants that are doing their immigration and process. We were talking about the violence against women at Bawa and how Hispanics, for example, are the community that it is at most at risk in fear of deportation, of domestic violence, that's not of being re traumatized Is, yes, I'm legal status. And how can we reach that and Like in those cases? It's not just mental health clinicians we also need from other Areas, like lawyers. You know we need to educate the fish sense.

Speaker 2: 23:53

Yeah, education teachers, you know, serving the children and yeah, so.

Speaker 3: 24:00

So this is part of our mission and with the BIPOC networking and CEO Event that we do this, it's something very tangible of like here. It is part of our mission and this is how we are contributing To make these Mission bigger. Right we're? We're more hand-fulls. We need more hands.

Speaker 2: 24:23

Yeah, no, I'm so grateful that you're, you are willing to come back on and talk on this, I think even on a on a greater scale. Your mission and for those listening, maybe you're an ally, maybe you want to be a part of this, of this Reinforcement and empowerment and and change. Yeah, I wonder what's the best way for people to get connected with you?

Speaker 3: 24:51

I have the best way to connect with me through our webpage, which is TherapyworksCounselingcom. We're also on Facebook by. We go by therapy works counseling, instagram, therapy works Anna in and my personal email is Marcella. At therapyworkscounselingcom, I Usually answer like really fast. I'm very, very good with with communication, so if you ever have a question, a comment or in some way that we or I can help, I will surely do that.

Speaker 2: 25:35

I Love that you know. Before I hit record, I mentioned that I moved from El Paso now to San Antonio and I'm like I'm close enough that you know what. Talk, tell me real quick. I'm about the networking events in case someone wants to go join. How often is that on?

Speaker 3: 25:52

your website. Yes, it is in our website, but we do it the second Friday of every month. So, yeah, the second Friday of every month, and we do it in in a venue in great bind. We have all the information there. We provide a CEO for Multicultural the CEOs that we need now for a multicultural. We provide that we have expert speakers in the subject, that they will, that they will talk, and we have a lot of Mental health clinicians from the bike. How come in your allies that want to learn more and want to share time with us in Networking and talking about their practices or what they're doing, and it's it's amazing. It's an amazing time also to socialize, right, and sometimes we're just doing our thing In our little space and we do not know about what others are doing or how can we as a community do more for For other communities? So this is the place to do that.

Speaker 2: 27:05

I love that because there's so much to learn from each other and there's so much power in connection and and it could be so rewarding even with our own work. So I'm grateful for the time you took to connect with me and with our listeners and Anna Marcela, thank you so much for being a part of our wellness journey.

Speaker 3: 27:23

Thank you so much for inviting me once again. It has been a pleasure and thank you for what you're doing. Thank you.