Lucid Counseling & Wellness | Counseling in Devine, TX | Mary Rivera LPC-S

“Hi, I'm Mary Rivera Founder and Owner of Lucid Counseling. We are a Private Practice Entity since 2017. I am Licensed by the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council- Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors as a Supervisor#75057 (LPC-S) in the State of Texas. I believe every person has intrinsic value and worth. But trauma, grief, painful experiences, and difficult seasons of life can make it hard to recognize that worth in ourselves. Sometimes we become disconnected from who we are, question ourselves, or find ourselves wondering, “What is wrong with me?” I understand what it is like to experience traumatic events and to have to find your way forward. That lived understanding, combined with my professional training, has shaped the way I approach therapy: with authenticity, compassion, and respect for each person’s individual story. My practice focuses primarily on trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, and experiences that leave people feeling stuck or disconnected from themselves. I utilize EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to help clients process traumatic and distressing experiences and reduce the impact those experiences continue to have on their lives. Trauma Therapy & EMDR Trauma does not always look the way people expect it to. It may come from a single overwhelming event or from experiences that accumulated over time. You may function well on the outside while still experiencing anxiety, avoidance, intrusive memories, emotional reactions, negative beliefs about yourself, or the feeling that a part of you remains stuck in the past. EMDR therapy is designed to help the brain process distressing experiences that may continue to affect the present. The goal is not to erase your story. It is to help the past become the past so that it no longer has to control how you experience yourself today. There is hope: Healing does not require pretending that difficult things never happened. Sometimes healing begins with having the freedom to acknowledge your story, the authenticity to be who you are, and the choice to decide what comes next. Understanding Grief: Grief is not only about the death of someone we love. We can grieve the loss of a relationship, a marriage, our health, a career, a sense of safety, the life we thought we would have, or even the person we were before something traumatic happened. Sometimes people experiencing grief wonder, “Why am I still feeling this way?” Understanding what grief is and how it affects you emotionally, physically, and mentally can help you better understand what you are going through. Grief does not always follow a predictable timeline or a specific set of stages. It can come in waves. You may have good days followed by unexpectedly difficult ones. Learning about your grief can help you recognize that your reactions have meaning. Therapy can provide a place to understand the loss, process the emotions connected to it, and learn how to carry what happened while continuing to move forward. The goal is not to forget. It is learning how to live while honoring what mattered. When You Want More Than Another Questionnaire Sometimes people come to therapy after years of asking: “Why do I feel this way?” “Why am I struggling when I’m trying so hard?” “Is it anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma—or something else?” “I’m tired of filling out questionnaires. I want more information about what may be happening.” For individuals looking for another layer of information, I also provide 19-channel qEEG brain mapping: A qEEG measures patterns of electrical brain activity and can provide objective information that may be considered alongside your symptoms, history, clinical assessment, and other relevant information. Rather than replacing a comprehensive mental health or medical evaluation, qEEG can provide additional data that may help guide conversations about treatment and next steps. For some people, seeing objective information about brain activity can also help shift the question from “What is wrong with me?” toward “What is happening, and what can I do about it?” LPC-ASSOCIATE SUPERVISION Let’s be real—becoming a counselor is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming, intimidating, confusing, and sometimes a little scary. You finish graduate school thinking you should know what you’re doing, and then suddenly you’re sitting across from a real client thinking, *“Okay…now what?”* There is documentation. Ethics. Difficult cases. Boundaries. Diagnosis. Treatment planning. Insurance. Employers. Crisis situations. Imposter syndrome. And then there is the bigger question: **Who am I going to be as a therapist?** Graduate school gives you the foundation, but there is so much about being a therapist that you learn by actually doing the work. That is where good supervision matters. I have been in the mental health field for many years, and one thing I know is that new clinicians need a place where they can ask questions without feeling stupid, talk through difficult cases without feeling judged, make mistakes, learn from them, laugh sometimes, and figure out their own clinical style. My job is not to turn you into me. **My job is to help you become a strong, ethical, confident version of YOU as a clinician.** My supervision style is supportive, direct, honest, collaborative, and very real. I am going to encourage you, but I am also going to challenge you. I want you to learn how to think clinically, not simply wait for someone to tell you what to do. We will talk about what went well, We will talk about what did not go well and We will talk about the cases that keep you thinking after you leave the office. And sometimes we are probably going to laugh until we have tears in our eyes—because this work is serious, but supervision does not have to feel cold or intimidating. I believe associates grow when they feel safe enough to say:“I don’t know.” "I think I messed that up." “What would you do?" “Something about this case doesn’t feel right.” Those are the conversations where real learning happens. Good supervision should be more than collecting hours toward your license. When you finish supervision with me, I want you to understand ethics, documentation, case conceptualization, boundaries, treatment planning, clinical decision-making, and the realities of working in the mental health profession. More importantly, I want you to trust yourself. MY CLINICAL APPROACH My supervision is grounded in evidence-based practice, ethics, professional accountability, authenticity, and genuine human connection. My clinical experience includes working with children, adolescents, young adults, and adults experiencing trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, ADHD, emotional overwhelm, family conflict, life transitions, relationship concerns, burnout, boundaries, and other challenges that affect everyday functioning. Trauma work is a significant part of my clinical practice. My approach incorporates: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR, Internal Family Systems/Parts Work, Trauma-informed interventions, Psychoeducation, Person-centered approaches, Practical coping and emotional-regulation strategies, Case conceptualization that looks beyond symptoms and asks what may be happening underneath them I believe therapy should make sense outside the therapy room. Clients need tools they can actually use in their lives—not just clinical language. The same applies to supervision. I want you to understand **WHY** you are doing an intervention, not simply memorize what intervention comes next. MY VALUES: My Christian faith is important to me, and it influences the values I bring into my professional life—integrity, compassion, responsibility, honesty, dignity, service, and treating people with respect. Supervision remains professional, ethical, and clinically focused. I also believe there is room in this profession for clinicians to be authentic about who they are instead of feeling like they have to become someone completely different when they walk into the counseling office. I am grounded in evidence-based and reality-based clinical practice, professional ethics, Texas law, informed consent, and responsible clinical decision-making. Not every supervisor is the right supervisor for every associate—and that is okay. Finding the right fit matters. WHAT TO EXPECT The Right Fit: I am interviewing you just as much as you are interviewing me. Supervision is a professional relationship that requires trust, honesty, accountability, communication, professionalism, and a willingness to grow. My supervision style is supportive, but I am direct. I will tell you when you are doing well. I will also tell you when something needs to change. I am not interested in micromanaging associates, but I do expect associates to take responsibility for their professional development. I am looking for associates who are: * Teachable * Motivated * Dependable * Ethical * Open to constructive feedback * Willing to ask questions * Able to accept accountability * Serious about developing strong clinical skills * Interested in becoming more than simply “licensed” I want you to become a clinician who understands the responsibility that comes with having those letters behind your name. PRIVATE PRACTICE DURING SUPERVISION I do not enter into supervision agreements with LPC-Associates who intend to independently establish and operate their own private practice while still under MY supervision. There are significant ethical, legal, regulatory, supervisory, and liability considerations involved when an associate attempts to function independently while practicing under another clinician’s license and supervision. My expectation is that we clearly understand your work setting, employment arrangement, clinical responsibilities, and supervisory relationship before entering into an agreement. CLINICAL PHILOSOPHY AND VALUES It is also important that we are a good fit regarding clinical philosophy. My approach is grounded in careful assessment, evidence-based treatment, ethical responsibility, informed consent, developmental considerations, Texas law, and individualized clinical decision-making. I expect associates to think critically about treatment rather than automatically following trends, social media narratives, political pressure, or popular opinions from either side of an issue. This includes complex and sensitive areas of practice involving children and adolescents. When working with minors, I believe clinical decisions require thoughtful assessment, appropriate informed consent, consideration of development and family systems, current professional standards, applicable law, and careful attention to the potential benefits and risks of treatment. If our fundamental approaches to clinical responsibility are significantly different, I may not be the right supervisor for you. That does not make either person “bad.” It means supervision fit matters. FEES & MEETINGS FOR LPC ASSOCIATES: Texas requires LPC-Associates to participate in regular supervision throughout the supervisory relationship in accordance with current Texas LPC rules. My supervision structure includes: 2 hours of individual supervision each month, typically scheduled as two individual meetings based on mutual availability 2 hours of group supervision each month, Group supervision is generally held on the third Monday of the month from 4:00 PM–6:00 PM Supervision is $500 per month, Due on the 1st of each month, Monthly supervision fees are non-refundable. Missed or canceled supervision sessions that must be rescheduled to maintain supervision requirements may be charged at the individual supervision rate of $125 per hour. Associates are also responsible for understanding and complying with current Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council requirements regarding supervision, documentation, hours, employment, and licensure. Ready to Take the Next Step? If you are looking for a supervisor who will simply sign paperwork and help you collect hours, I am probably not your person. But if you want someone who will teach you, challenge you, support you, answer the hard questions, laugh with you, hold you accountable, and genuinely invest in the clinician you are becoming—we may be a great fit. "I don't just want to help you get licensed" "I want to help you become the kind of therapist you would trust with someone you love." Ready to take the NEXT Step Call Me at 830.444.6281 and leave me a message.