About Mario Uribe
Marriage & Family Therapist Associate, MS, LMFT ASSOCIATE
I work with a diverse array of men, women and couples, and always strive to respect the dignity and individuality of those I serve. I believe it important not to “impose” myself on clients, but instead to “walk with” people as they navigate their own journeys toward healing, growth and happiness.
Often, when beginning to work with new clients, I find they are exhausted—emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and otherwise, and I greatly respect the courage and commitment of those willing to place their trust in me. My approach begins with non-judgmentally listening to you, and being fully present with you where you are, wherever that may be.
I believe all clients are worthy of unconditional positive regard, and I am committed to providing a safe and secure setting; as trust and security build, the step by step journey toward new possibilities and transformative change begins to take shape. Healing begins.
Whether working with individual clients, couples or families, I place a high value on respecting the individuality of those I serve. I strive not to “impose” myself on clients, but instead “walk with” people on their own journeys toward wellness,
Individual Counseling
Much of my clinical experience involves helping adult individual clients with mood and anxiety-related disturbances, AD/HD, relationship problems, life adjustments, problematic sexual behaviors and other compulsive behaviors. Sometimes, new clients describe difficulties that seem “chronic” in nature, meaning they have been problematic for years perhaps, possibly worsening over time. Other times, new clients are concerned with more immediate problems that can make daily functioning very difficult. In either case, my approach is to listen to you, assess your needs, and collaborate with you on the best way forward.
Rather than relying upon any single methodology when working with individual clients, I adjust my approach depending on individual client and his/her needs; in so doing, I utilize an integrative approach that considers a variety of therapeutic possibilities ranging, for example, from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to humanistic and experiential therapies. Whereas the nature and duration of counseling will greatly vary according to one’s own needs, I encourage open collaboration with clients in formulating goals (sometimes better defined as “needs” or “wants”) and empowering others on the path of their choosing.
Your journey is your own, but I find it important at times to “map waypoints” along the way, review progress together, and gather perspective. Even if the destination is foggy at the start, the hope is that in time it will begin to come into focus—sometimes, it takes a while to know what we want before we know what we seek. I believe effective counseling considers both the destination and the journey. The journey is your own, but you are not alone.
Couples Counseling
Do you often feel like a “nag,” or that you “can’t get through” to your partner—are you perpetually trying “reach” him/her, but are angry, sad or frustrated at your inability to connect? Or perhaps you find yourself instead distancing from your partner, avoiding conflict in order to avoid her/his anger and resentment, only to find yourself “walking on eggshells.” You feel the pain of disconnection with the person you love, and you feel stuck; perhaps it even feels hopeless at times. If only you could re-discover the bond that somehow still exists beneath the rubble of fighting, avoiding and blaming. Your heart yearns for this connection, but despite your efforts, you feel yourselves drifting apart. You feel you are losing the one you love, and it hurts so much.
If this describes what is happening between you and your partner, you are certainly not alone. It may be that within your relationship you are suffering from a long-standing, familiar pattern of conflict that has left you feeling isolated in your pain and distanced from the one you love. It may well be that you do not even know or understand why or how this painful disconnect—this invisible monster that gets between you—is happening. For others, it may more immediately relate to the intense pain of infidelity, compulsive, problematic sexual behaviors, or other addictions, mental illness, neurological factors, or other life-stressors.
My specialized training and experience in Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) provides an experiential approach in working with couples– one that builds strong, enduring emotional connections from their emotional core. My work with EFT leads partners to experience their own, and each other’s emotions in new, heartfelt ways that result in loving interactions and re-attachment of ruptured or broken emotional bonds.
EFT is not a “band-aid approach” toward helping couples. Rather than relying heavily upon popularized “tools” or “communication strategies,” EFT provides the platform for couples to experience transformative emotional experiences. Healing within EFT is not limited to instruction or cognitive problem-solving (which many long-suffering couples have already tried) but instead fosters heartfelt experience aimed at restoring strong, lasting bonds between partners.
Special Needs Parents
As a husband and father of a child with special needs, I am intimately familiar with the kind of challenges faced by parents within such families. I work with couples and single parents who struggle to cope with their children’s developmental challenges to include Autism, AD/HD, and other learning or behavior-related issues. I assess clients’ needs from a parent, couple and family perspective; rather than to exclusively focus therapy on the individual child with special needs, I assist parents in fortifying their couples (or other) relationship(s), honing parenting skills, and seeing to the well-being of the family as a whole.
In any family, but disproportionally in special needs families, couples may feel their bond begin to erode in the face of such family stressors. A healthy, loving bond between parents undergirds the love and security of the entire family, but sadly that bond too often begins to collapse under the weight of such intense pressure. Loving parents who sacrifice and devote so much of their energy and resources toward their child’s needs can end up “losing each other” in the process.
As a parent who has been through the IEP meetings, advocated for my child under difficult circumstances, endured public behavioral meltdowns, and in other ways navigated the special needs terrain, I understand how painful and difficult these unique challenges can be. I greatly value working with both couples and individual parents facing such challenges.
Sexual, And Other Compulsive Behaviors
Sometimes, problematic sexual behaviors, or other addictive/compulsive behaviors related to alcohol, substance use or other mental or neurological difficulties lie at the core of what prevents people from living in spiritual freedom and happiness. Whether defined as addiction or compulsion, “getting stuck” in such syndromes can amount to a painful, shame-induced reality in which one may begin to lose him/her “self,” while isolating from loved ones. My work with men and women facing such difficulties involves assessing the client’s “big picture” needs, considering support networks, and collaborating on the best way toward healing.
It can take extraordinary courage for a man or woman to talk about pornography-related or other unwanted sexual behaviors. I believe “good people can have bad problems,” and am committed to compassionately and non-judgmentally assisting those seeking relief from whatever is keeping them “stuck.”
Notables and “Fun Facts” About Mario Uribe
I attained my BA degree from St. Mary’s University, Texas, and my MS in Clinical Counseling (Marriage and Family Therapy) from Cal State University, Long Beach (CA). I have participated in advanced Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) training to include Externship as well as all levels of EFT core skills training. I currently serve as Board of Directors Vice President for the Austin Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy. I am a certified Positive Discipline Educator, and in addition to my clinically-oriented education, my past professional experience extends to corporate consultant and management work in the area of Employee Relations.
I grew up the eldest of 6 siblings in Orange County, California, but have gratefully become a
“naturalized” Texan. I’m into literature and creative writing, (mostly short stories) and enjoy hiking, backpacking, football, and all kinds of seventies and eighties music. My teenage son is a gifted pianist and composer, and among his many fans, none are greater than his mom and dad.
I attained my BA degree from St. Mary’s University, Texas, and my MS in Clinical Counseling (Marriage and Family Therapy) from Cal State University, Long Beach (CA), and am a certified Positive Discipline educator. In addition to my clinically-oriented education, my past professional experience extends to corporate consultant and management work in the area of Employee Relations.
SPECIALTIES
I work with individuals (adults and adolescents), couples and families. Areas of specialization include:
Autism/”Special Needs” (Parent Training/ Couples and Family therapy within special needs
families)
Mood and Anxiety disorders (Adults and Adolescents)
Relationship issues (Couples and Individual Adults)
Men’s Issues
Addiction/Compulsions (Adults and Adolescents)