Maru Chavez Harrington

My journey in healthcare began in the 1970s when I knew very early that I wanted to be a physician, but as a double minority - female and Hispanic - opportunities were extremely limited. I got two scholarships in Houston and volunteered at Casa de Amigos Community Health Center, where the director told me about medical school opportunities in Mexico. I pursued my medical degree at the University of Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, graduating in 1984, and I'm very happy with the training I received because I still feel I can get to a diagnosis without relying on all the technology. I practiced medicine for 14 years before coming back to the States to focus on raising my two teenage boys, which has been my main role, my best role, and my favorite role in life. In my early 40s, facing competition with younger students and age discrimination on top of being a minority, I decided to get a master's degree in counseling psychology instead of pursuing a medical residency. I received tremendous support from faculty and started teaching biopsychology while doing career counseling and being a graduate student all at the same time. After getting my degree in 2006 and becoming a licensed professional counselor, I worked in diverse clinical settings - doing my internship with diabetic groups to help them understand their eating behaviors and control their diabetes without depending so much on medication, which was an extraordinary experience that let me combine my medical and psychotherapeutic knowledge. I also worked in chronic pain management at a clinic and continued teaching at the university level. I started my private practice, NCH Professional Counseling, before COVID, but it really bloomed when we had to go virtual during the pandemic. I discovered that virtual counseling produces excellent results, and I believe it's been very good for mental health because it reaches a larger population who may not have the ability to transport or who want discretion and privacy. I've noticed that clients really open up when they're in their own environment and feel safer than sitting in front of me in an office. I work with adolescents and adults, providing evidence-based, short-term counseling for anxiety, depression, and situational problems like adapting to change, workplace issues, and interrelational conflicts. I use personality testing, particularly the Big Five Factor model with the NEO-PI or NEO-AC assessments, to measure progress and help clients understand their normal personality traits. This approach has been very helpful - I had one young man who thought everybody was looking at him and laughing at the way he walked, and after neurological testing showed he was fine, we used personality testing to help him understand it was his perception, and he was able to control that thinking and accept himself. Right now I'm semi-retired and work cash-only, doing virtual counseling part-time so I can focus on my role as a grandmother to nine grandchildren in my blended family, which I consider my biggest success and accomplishment.