Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors License #95186

Supervised by Bethany Moss M.A., LPC-S, RPT (License # 73916)

At the Vale Counseling, Mariela serves as a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology with a minor in Psychology from University of Texas at Dallas, and a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling from Dallas Baptist University.

Mariela brings a wealth of professional experience working with diverse cultural backgrounds. Her eight years of experience as a Pediatric Bilingual Speech Therapist provided her with the ability to connect with children and their families. She also worked for a non-profit early intervention program as a Early Intervention Specialist/Service Coordinator, where she provided emotional support for families dealing with various medical diagnosis, such as autism, down syndrome, terminal illnesses, physical/occupational delays, speech impediments, and others.

Mariela has a passion for working with individuals of all ages who have experienced trauma, depression, anxiety, stress, anger, and who may be experiencing difficulty adjusting to various life transitions. In addition, with her expertise, she is able to support parents and children in improving communication, resolving conflict, and helping them understand one another.

Mariela builds strong therapeutic relationships by meeting the client where they are in their healing journey. In treatment, she considers the whole person by supporting psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual wellness.

Mariela enjoys working with children as young as 3-year-old. When working with children, she enjoys incorporating play therapy to help them understand their inner world through their natural language, play. She strongly believes that it is through play that children can build their confidence and alleviate strong emotions. When working with teens and adults, Mariela incorporates Person-centered Therapy, Adlerian and Humanistic approaches to facilitate empowering conversations, emotional regulation, and creative goal setting. Apart from traditional talk therapy, Mariela enjoys incorporating other therapeutic strategies such as, but not limited to, walking outdoor sessions and board games. Furthermore, she offers support and guidance for parents with strategies that meet the family’s needs and values by exploring parenting styles, methods of discipline, limit setting, attachments, and effective styles of communication.

Mariela is fluent in Spanish and able to offer culturally responsive services to Spanish speaking individuals.