Ana De La Cruz, LMFTLMFT

One of the biggest barrier today for people seeking care is time. We live very busy lives, with hectic schedules that selfcare is the last item on our to-do list. Usually, when people seek the help of a professional is when their lives are crumbling and they don't know how to keep it together anymore. Similar, to going to the doctor for a physical illness. I've known people that complain about headaches often, yet they don't seek the help of a doctor until the headache is unbearable. It is important to keep in mind that the longest we wait to ask for help the more difficult it will be to address the issue. Time is of the essence. Making time to take care of ourselves its critical to be productive on everything else that we do, and actually enjoy our lives to the fullest.

A first session with me would be focus on building rapport with my client. I would focus on getting to know their story, getting to know who they are, their family, their work, their daily struggle, and what they would like to accomplish in therapy in a conversational style. I understand how difficult it could be to tell a complete stranger your whole life story on the first session, I would ask simple questions to help my client feel comfortable to open up and share their story with me.

Setting goals is my priority. Nonetheless, it is the client that sets their own goals. My job is to find out how are we going reach those goals. At the beginning of therapy, many clients do not know what exactly they want from therapy and that's okay, I would guide them by asking them several questions to create a picture of how the future would look like when therapy is over. What would tell them that therapy has been successful?

• Florida, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, MT3342

In 2010 after graduating from the University of Florida, I completed an internship at the Alachua County Crisis center. After the internship, I became a phone crisis counselor. As a crisis counselor, I was able to speak to hundreds of people who were going through heartbreaking, clouded, unending conflicts and life-threatening situations. I am humbled to say that I was able to shine a light on several people who were on the edge of suicide. I was able to help them find that missing puzzle that created hope for the future. In 2011, I moved to south Florida and began my master’s degree in Marriage and Family therapy. I specifically chose Marriage and Family therapy. After my experience at the crisis center, I realized that the onset of several conflicts in my client's life had begun way before they reached 10 years of age. The constant struggle with anxiety, depression, feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, and inability to set goals and follow through came from a broken family. I concluded that if I could intervene in the formation of families, I could save future generations from struggling with mental illness. In 2013, after I graduated, I worked for M.U.J.E.R, a nonprofit organization that works with victims of Domestic violence, mostly females. I was able to gain firsthand experience in the lives of completely broken families. I was blessed to be able to be part of such dark times in the lives of many people. I was able to highlight the strength they had to pick up the pieces left to start all over again. My journey continued as a support counselor at the UHealth NICU, providing support to parents whose premature babies were on the verge of death. My role as a support therapist was to create strong stress management skills, plan for the unforeseen future, and teach partners (marriages) how to provide support to each other during difficult times and through the process of grief. I continued to gain experience in the field of Behavioral Analysis, working with parents who have children with several developmental delays and in the spectrum of Autism, I have seen their pain, felt their vulnerability, and feelings of hopelessness, and celebrated their growth. As a therapist, in the last 10 years, I have been able to be part of people's darkest moments in life, a time when no one knows how to be present. And although not all stories are success stories, I have to say that I have been blessed to be able to see the light at the end of many tunnels. I would be thrilled to walk with you on your Journey.