EP 442: One Marriage for Life? God’s Design & The Guidance You’ve Been Missing

What makes Shacarol Monteiro with New Life Found Counseling a good neighbor?

Therapy has a branding problem, and it costs people years. Some folks still believe you have to be “crazy” to need counseling, when the truth is much simpler: most of us need a steady, skilled third party who can help us carry the load, see our blind spots, and practice a better way forward. We talk with Shacarol Monteiro from New Life Found Counseling, a private practice in the Adriatica area of McKinney, TX, about what mental health counseling actually looks like when it’s practical, direct, and centered on real transformation.

Shacarol shares how her path started with being the person everyone went to for advice, then grew into a clear calling to help people change from the inside out. We get specific about what change requires: openness, a willingness to grow, and the repetition that turns new choices into new habits. If you’ve ever felt stuck in the same cycles, you’ll hear why patterns can feel automatic, how the subconscious plays a role, and what it takes to pivot in a direction you can sustain.

We also shift into couples counseling and marriage counseling, especially for couples in crisis who feel like they’ve tried everything and nothing has worked. Shacarol explains why she’s drawn to high-conflict moments, what her signature approach is designed to do, and why “I married the wrong person” can be one of the most damaging myths a couple buys into. The conversation closes with a faith-forward perspective on selflessness, commitment, and what it means to build a marriage that lasts.

Find New Life Found Counseling on Instagram (New Life Found Counseling LLC), Facebook (New Life Found Counseling), and at www.newlifefoundcounseling.com
. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs hope, and leave a quick review so more couples and families can find it.

To learn more about New Life Found Counseling go to:
 https://www.newlifefoundcounseling.com/

 New Life Found Counseling

469-393-7093

Transcript

Welcome To Good Neighbor Podcast

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in native a counselor? Well, one might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing our good neighbor, Shakiro Montero, with New Found Life Counseling. Shakaril, it is great to have you on today. Now we are so excited to learn all about you and your business. Please start off by telling our listeners just a little bit more about your practice.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Awesome. Well, thank you so much. I'm so honored to be here. So my business is New Life Found Counseling, and we are a private practice in the McKinney area, actually at the Adriatica, which is a super gorgeous area. Um, and we do all kinds of mental health counseling. It is such a fun thing to do. I it's a literally a privilege to do what I do every day.

The Calling Behind The Career

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Wonderful. Now, getting into your story and your background a little bit more, please share with our listeners how you originally got into this industry.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Absolutely. Well, I have been that kid where everyone came to me for advice. I mean, since I was a youngster, everyone wanted to talk to me and ask for my opinions, even adults, people older than me. And so I knew that it was definitely a God calling in regard to getting into counseling. But I never actually saw myself being a counselor until I was in college. Um, I have changed careers, I've changed paths so many times, and I was led here to encourage people by changing them from the inside out. So I was a pre-med and switched to psychology because I wanted to actually help people change. You know, it's one thing to have an external change, but internally we're broken and we're in need of someone to process with and to talk with and to get some of those burdens off of our backs. And so I knew that this is where I needed to be.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Well, amen. And today, you know, getting a little bit deeper into the misconception you come across most often when it comes to transformation, you know, what is that? And what advice would you give to somebody going through that today?

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Well, it's a really great question because one of the biggest misconceptions I get about mental health counseling is that you have to be crazy to need counseling, that you have to just be off of your rocker in order for counseling to be effective. But I'm a huge component that everyone needs someone to talk with. That's a third party, no skin in the game, no, you know, incentive, and they don't have to see that person ever again. So for transformation to turn to happen, one, you need a person that is uh open. They need to be willing and wanting the change, but maybe they don't know how to get there, they don't know what is the steps, they they struggle with insecurities or lacking confidence. And so you need someone that can uh build you up, someone that's gonna call you out, but someone that's gonna do it in a loving way. And then you need that person to walk you through the practice of change. You know, we're creatures of habit. We are gonna do the same thing over and over again, no matter how destructive or helpful it is. And so I have the unique privilege to be able to see patterns of behavior, pivot people in a different direction, and help them begin to reiterate those steps so that it becomes second nature. We've got to change our subconscious if we're gonna actually have a chance of true life-changing transformation.

Couples In Crisis And A New Program

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Wonderful. And switching gears to growth for a second, you know, marketing really is the heart of every business. So today, who are some of those ideal clients that you would like to really leave your mark on? And how are you attracting them?

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Right now, my business is saturated with couples in crisis. I love couples in crisis, and a lot of therapists don't touch couples, they don't want to deal with them because it's difficult. But I do feel that I have a personality to handle multiple people at one time. I'm very direct, and so I'm looking for couples in crisis. I just created a signature program that I'm releasing that's gonna help people get from distraction and hopelessness to hope and peace. And so that's really who I'm praying is listening today are those that are on the verge of divorce, on the brink of breaking. They feel like they've tried everything, every traditional route, and nothing has worked. That's who I'm looking for because I believe I have an incredible tool to help them get back to covenant, back to traditional love. So that's who I'm looking for.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Now, in terms of helping these couples in crisis, have you ever thought of having your own podcast to extend your mission?

SPEAKER_02 5:18

I would be so down for a podcast. As you can tell, technology, not my forte. I'm young, but I feel like I'm an old lady at the same time. But absolutely, I think that would be such an incredible tool or avenue for people to be able to link arms with me without having to be in my office because it is very limiting as a therapist when you only have 50 minutes with a person once a week. So a podcast would be dope.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

If you had your first episode, what would you make it about?

SPEAKER_02 5:53

I think it would have to be about the misconceived notions about uh marriage. I get all the time, you know, this I think I married the wrong person and they've changed so much, or you know, it's not supposed to be this hard when actually marriage is the only relationship you ever choose. You you don't choose your family, you don't choose the kids that you're given, you don't choose even your friends. You you flock to people that are similar to you. But your your spouse is the only person in the entire universe you choose. And so when you begin to think that you made the wrong choice, then you begin to believe that the grass is greener on the other side. You stop trying, you begin to get very uh resentful and bitter. And so that I've been trying to break some of those myths for a long time, but that absolutely would probably be the first episode. We're gonna go deep real quick.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

That's amazing. And a question for you do you think it is possible for a marriage to last forever with the right skills in place?

SPEAKER_02 6:54

Absolutely. I believe that every marriage has a 100% chance of success when it's done God's way. When you do it the way God intended marriage, you are going to be successful because it's not about you, it's about dying to yourself, it's about being selfless, it's about reflecting Jesus to the world. So absolutely, without a doubt, there is a 100% success rate when you die to yourself and you give to the mission 100%.

How To Find Shakiro Online

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Amen. And where can our listeners find you um on the internet to learn more about your business?

SPEAKER_02 7:31

So we're gonna be at New Life Found Counseling LLC on Instagram or New Life Found Counseling on Facebook and the website www.newlifefoundcounseling.com.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Well, Shakarel, I really appreciate you being on the show today, and we wish you and your mission the best moving forward. Thank you. You're the best, lovely girl.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfrisco.com. That's gmpfrisco.com or call four six nine two two two two two two two two two two two two one nine three four five.