1. What is your professional background?

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, Registered Play Therapist, National Certified Counselor, and Institute of Play Therapy Certified Sandtray Therapist. I received my master’s degree in counseling from the University of North Texas through their nationally known play therapy program and my bachelor’s degree in child development. I currently serve as a senior therapist and DEI coordinator at Ensemble Therapy, where I work with children and adolescents. I specialize in working with children with developmental disabilities, grief and loss, and emotional, relational, and behavior concerns.

2. What is your role with Lucero?

I support content creation and review, specifically for the Spark and Missions app features.

3. What led you to become a youth-focused therapist?

I have always enjoyed working with youth. I believe that if youth feel heard and seen, it can provide lasting positive impacts on how they view and accept themselves. 

4. What’s one area of expertise or a passion that you are excited to share with others?

I’m very passionate about my work as a play therapist. Play therapy uses the therapeutic powers of play to support children in making sense of their experiences and providing a safe space to grow, develop coping strategies, learn to navigate challenges, increase confidence, and so so much more. Play truly heals!

5. Do you have an avatar in the Lucero app? If so, describe it and how it reflects your personality.

My avatar is a turtle, which represents being hard-working, steady and careful. This is true to my personality, as I value hard work and view myself as loyal and consistent in my relationships and my passions.

6. What about your personal life and interests? What makes you unique?

I take time to really get to know people. I love asking questions and hearing people\’s stories. I’m usually the one in my family and group of friends to know the random stories or facts about others that most people don’t know about.

7. What’s one thing that people are surprised to learn about you?

I spent time living in Romania in a small village. It was such an amazing experience immersing into the culture, building relationships, and supporting youth. 

8. What’s one of your favorite emotional regulation techniques?

I love doing the five senses technique. It helps me focus on the present and silence any other worries or stressors so that I can feel more grounded. 

Here’s how to do it:

• 5 (sight): Look around you. What do you see? Say five things out loud.
• 4 (touch): Feel your body and what’s around you and say four things you can feel (like your hair or clothes, the breeze on your skin, etc.)
• 3 (listen): What do you hear? Listen and say three things out loud.
• 2 (smell): Breathe in through your nose. What are two things you can smell? If you can’t smell anything, say two of your favorite smells.
• 1 (taste): Name one thing you can taste, like your toothpaste. If you can’t taste anything, say one of your favorite tastes.
• Take a deep breath and notice if you feel more calm.

9. If you could take a cross-country road trip with any three people, who would you choose and why?

My partner, my son, and my grandmother. When I’m with them my cup always feels full, adventures are abundant, and smiles never cease.

10. If you could share one important message with every tween and teen, what would it be?

You are not alone. You are seen and you are loved. I know from personal experience that sometimes things feel really challenging, but it does get better. Reach out for help if you need it.

1. Encourage them to express emotions.

Grief causes a wide range of emotions– some of them unexpected and uncomfortable. Teens may feel anger, sadness, shock, denial, guilt, blame, numbness, cynicism, relief, fear, and more. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief provide a helpful framework, but experts agree there’s no set path for emotions to follow. Let your teen know that we all grieve differently and in our own time; it’s normal to feel a lot, to feel nothing at all, or for emotions to be all over the place. It’s also common to have good days and bad ones. Accept it all. Don’t judge yourself for feeling how you feel. Instead of holding it all inside, find healthy ways to express emotions, like talking to a trusted friend or therapist, joining a teen support group, or journaling.

2. Know what’s normal.

Grief makes teens’ mental health more vulnerable. While all emotions are normal, some of the ways teens experience or express their feelings may be cause for concern. Grief can lead to impulsive behavior and recklessness, and may increase the risk of substance abuse, self-harm, depression, and anxiety. Some teens may withdraw from family and friends and isolate themselves in their attempts to cope. If you’re worried about your teen’s mental health, reach out to a licensed therapist who specializes in grief and loss. They can assess your teen’s needs and provide tools and practices to support you both.

3. Keep routines consistent. 

An experience of loss shakes up teens’ sense of stability, so routines are important to keep them feeling grounded. Try to make daily life as predictable as possible, for example, by going to bed around the same time every night and eating breakfast every morning. If your teen takes time off from school or other activities, talk to them about any challenges they might face in going back, then come up with a plan together. Make sure your teen doesn’t have to be alone unless they want to be; call on friends, family members, neighbors, and anyone else your teen trusts to check in and spend extra time with them. Schedule small, special things you can do together, like watching a movie or going for a hike. Prioritize self-care, relationships and wellness. Each of these practices keeps teens from feeling lost in chaos and steers them towards healing one day at a time.

4. Take meaningful action.

Part of the pain of grief and loss is the accompanying feeling of helplessness. It’s scary to realize that we can’t always protect our loved ones or expect the future to unfold in a safe, predictable way. To help teens proactively deal with their fears, find ways to take meaningful action. That might mean creating a memorial, putting together a scrapbook or photo album, or sharing favorite stories and memories. You could volunteer together, raise money for a cause, or commit to a shared goal in honor of a loved one’s memory. Doing something meaningful restores teens’ sense of self-efficacy and gives them a way to pay tribute to whom and what they’ve lost.

5. Lean into their big questions.

Grief can bring up challenging questions about the meaning of life, death, who we are as human beings, and why we are here. It’s normal to feel uncertain and unprepared to answer your teen’s questions, but it’s worth it to lean into that  discomfort. As part of the process of identity-formation, teens undergo what psychologist Lisa Miller calls spiritual individuation: “This is who I am spiritually… this is how I perceive the world as a spiritual place. What is good, worthy, full, or empty? What is life-giving, and how do I join and become a part of what is good? Spiritual individuation is the adolescent’s drive to find deeper personal meaning and purpose.” Support your teen’s exploration first by being willing to listen, then by sharing your own thoughts and feelings as honestly as you can. It’s ok to be vulnerable or to say, “I’m not sure how I feel about that; what do you think?” What matters most to your teen is your willingness to join them on the journey.