Maria Ortiz Perez

If you or your teen are carrying something heavy — trauma that keeps showing up, anxiety that won't settle, or a life that's shifted in ways that are hard to name — I'm here to help. I'm a bilingual, Spanish-speaking LPC in Texas with 3 years of clinical experience. I'm trained in EMDR therapy and specialize in trauma, emotional regulation, and life transitions. I work with adolescents ages 11–17 and adults, and I believe therapy is a space to work toward your most authentic self. I believe healing is possible when people are given a safe space to be seen, heard, and understood. Over time, I realized that many of the struggles people experience are often rooted in experiences that were never fully processed. I draw from EMDR, Trauma-Focused CBT, and attachment-based therapy, choosing what fits the specific work we're doing. EMDR helps process trauma that holds on even when you understand it intellectually. Attachment-based work helps us understand how your early relationships shape the way you connect and respond today. In a session, that might look like walking through a specific memory using EMDR, exploring a pattern in your relationships that keeps repeating, or building a tool for managing emotional overwhelm before our next session. In a TF-CBT session, that might look like working with your teen on emotional regulation and literacy, building coping strategies and working on processing a trauma. As part of TF-CBT, parents are encourage to participate in joint session to strengthen skills learned. My approach is collaborative — we'll figure out together what you need and build from there. In our first session, you'll share what brings you to therapy and what you're hoping to get out of it. We'll start identifying your goals and map out a direction together. I'll also go over consents and answer any questions you have about the process. You set the pace — there's no pressure to share more than you're ready for.