The journey through life is a time of challenge, growth, personal discovery and transformation. Sometimes you’ll feel confident that you’re making terrific progress. Sometimes, you may feel a bit uncertain about it all.
If you’re a soul-searcher like me, you’re probably engaged in a true search for meaning and purpose and perhaps finding your true mission in life: Your work on the planet. A spiritual quest.
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I am so happy to share my Counseling and Mental Health services with my professional colleague, Dr. Eva Munguia, who, like me, is based in California. We are both dedicated to helping you!
For more information about Eva, you can visit Eva’s Place at Grad-Mentor.
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In my own educational and career journey, counseling others has consistently been a source of joy, gladness, and fulfillment. It started when I was in high school–and it’s never stopped. As a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) I am attuned to emotions and deep self-reflection in others. I highly recommend a visit to HSP World for healthy insights that may indeed open your eyes to your own challenges and inner gifts.
I deeply honor your pursuits. I also know that you deserve to be kind to yourself as you pursue these next steps. Introspection is a wonderful part of the process, but it can be challenging if you strictly “go it alone.”
* I have more than 35 years of professional experience and research in the areas of college and university student development, higher education administration, and institutional effectiveness. I have developed a comprehensive guide to Research on College and University Student Mental Health that I update weekly.
* I am a member of the American Psychological Association, the Healthy Minds Network, the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and the National Career Development Association. I am certified in Mental Health First Aid and QPR Suicide Awareness.
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To All of Our Visitors:
If you need a safe place to reflect and explore yourself with loving kindness from another person, you are invited to consider this offer of assistance. You can reach out to us, we can talk, and either I or Dr. Munguia can offer wisdom, advice and support. We can also refer you to other colleagues who have various professional counseling specialties.
To our Graduate Student Visitors:
If you are a current graduate student, you can visit my reference page on Graduate Student Mental Health Issues.
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Our Professional Counseling Services Address these Themes:
- Mental health concerns, including melancholia, anxiety and depression
- COVID-19 Distress
- Relationship, family and friendship issues
- Career development and self-assessment
- Educational and personal guidance in undergraduate and graduate programs.
- Workplace challenges, including toxic bosses and career burnout
- Evaluating your educational experiences, costs, and benefits
- Overcoming self-doubt
- Managing perfectionism
- Self-Criticism
- Health and wellness
- Positive psychology
- Emotional abuse and PTSD treatment
- Fear and panic attacks
- Crisis management and emotional support
- Overcoming self-harm
- Women’s Issues and Men’s Issues
- Multicultural Concerns
- Grief and loss support
- Meditation guidance and creative visualization
- Life transitions and life purpose
- Self-Care and Self-Compassion
- Spiritual support
- Stress management
- Sexuality
- LGBTQI and gender-related issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Polyamory and non-monogamous relationships
- Academic concerns
- Perfectionism
For starters, consider these options:
- Here is a wonderful tool for self-awareness: The Via Character Strengths Survey. I recommend it for a wealth of insight and self-acceptance it provides. It helped me to realize that my top character trait is love. I have struggled with love across my lifetime, but reading the survey results really helped me to be okay with this.
- Take a few moments to read and reflect about your own personal journey through life using these thoughts from Shauna Shapiro in Berkeley’s Greater Good magazine: Want to Change Your Life? Try Self-Compassion
- Consider these 19 self-acceptance quotes for relating to yourself in a better way from the Positive Psychology Program. Do you recognize your own challenges inside these quotes?
- Rewrite Your Life, by Susan Gregory Thomas, from Psychology Today
- If you consider yourself to be a sensitive person, I truly recommend these two articles from Psychology Today by Psychiatrist Judith Orloff:
- If you are struggling with feelings of isolation or emotional distress due to any particular circumstances you find yourself experiencing, I recommend Elizabeth Markle’s article Four Things to Do Every Day for Your Mental Health.
Being true to your inner voice is so essential. Feeling support from others is equally vital.
We both offer a full range of options for working together, including video meetings (Zoom, Google video), telephone or email support, and online research guidance where appropriate.
For further details about our counseling services, you may contact me.
Gradmentor: Counseling, Research and Professional Support 