I believe that every person enters therapy with a story that deserves to be heard and understood. Sometimes that story includes experiences that have shaped the way we see ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us. At other times, life simply becomes overwhelming, and we realize that the ways we have learned to cope are no longer helping us move forward.
I am Dr. Lourdes Araujo, Ed.D., LMHC, QS, a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and trauma specialist. Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of walking alongside individuals during some of the most difficult, uncertain, and transformative periods of their lives. My experience includes working with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and loss, stress, relationship concerns, self-esteem, major life transitions, and personal and professional challenges.
My therapeutic style is warm, genuine, collaborative, and holistic. I believe that effective therapy begins with a relationship in which you feel safe enough to be honest, respected enough to be yourself, and supported enough to explore difficult experiences without fear of judgment.
I do not believe that therapy should follow the same path for every person. Your experiences, culture, relationships, values, beliefs, strengths, and goals are uniquely yours. For that reason, I take the time to understand the whole person rather than focusing only on symptoms or a diagnosis. Together, we can explore not only what is happening in your life, but also what may be contributing to it, what patterns may be keeping you feeling stuck, and what can help you begin moving forward.
My role is not to tell you how to live your life or to provide you with all the answers. Instead, I bring clinical knowledge, experience, curiosity, compassion, and therapeutic tools into a process in which we work together. There may be times when you need support and validation. There may also be times when meaningful growth requires reflection, new perspectives, healthy challenges, and the courage to approach something differently.
I believe that healing involves more than reducing symptoms. It can also involve understanding yourself more deeply, developing healthier ways of responding to life's challenges, strengthening relationships, establishing boundaries, reconnecting with your values, and recognizing strengths that may have become difficult to see during challenging times.
This belief is reflected in my RISE philosophy: Resilience, Inspiration, Strength, and Empowerment. Resilience does not mean that difficult experiences do not affect us. It means learning how to move through those experiences while developing greater understanding, resources, and confidence. My hope is to help you discover what inspires meaningful change, recognize the strengths you already possess, and feel increasingly empowered to make choices that support the life you want to create.
I am bilingual and provide therapy in both English and Spanish. I value cultural understanding and recognize that our backgrounds, families, traditions, beliefs, and life experiences can play an important role in how we understand ourselves and the challenges we face.
You do not need to arrive at therapy knowing exactly what to say or having everything figured out. We can begin with where you are today. My hope is to create a therapeutic space where you feel heard and understood, while also helping you develop greater insight, resilience, and confidence as you move toward meaningful and lasting change.
RISE: Resilience. Inspiration. Strength. Empowerment.
Additional areas of focus: Coping with addictions, LGBTQ+ related issues, Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Intimacy related issues, Parenting issues, Anger management, Motivation, self esteem, and confidence, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Executive and professional coaching, Compassion fatigue, Concentration, memory and focus (ADHD), Abandonment, Aging and geriatric issues, Attachment issues, Blended family issues, Caregiver issues and stress, Codependency, Commitment issues, Communication problems, Control issues, Coping with natural or human-caused disaster, Dependent personality, Dissociation, Divorce and separation, Domestic violence, Emptiness, Family of origin issues, Family problems, Fatherhood issues, First responder issues, Forgiveness, Guilt and shame, Immigration issues, Infidelity, Isolation / loneliness, Jealousy, Life purpose, Veteran and Armed Forces Issues, Mood disorders, Multicultural concerns, Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Phobias, Post-traumatic stress, Prejudice and discrimination, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-love, Sexual assault and abuse, Social anxiety and phobia, Workplace issues, Young adult issues
Clinical approaches: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Imago Relationship Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Somatic Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy
FL LMHC MH18113
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Dr. Lourdes Araujo. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.
Gives great advice and wonderful supportive counseling!
Written on Mar 29, 2021 after therapy with Lourdes for 2 weeks
I’ve only seen her twice and I’ve already gained a tremendous amount of help and coping mechanisms that I’ve applied and helped my every day life.
Written on Mar 22, 2021 after therapy with Lourdes for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, self esteem, anger management, bipolar disorder, coping with life changes, and adhd
Dr. Araujo is amazing and lovely to talk to. I feel like I'm talking to family and someone that truly understands me
Written on Feb 06, 2021 after therapy with Lourdes for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, and self esteem
Lourdes was supportive and provided good suggestions for coping. She helped me work on my self esteem and life outlook.
Written on Dec 03, 2020 after therapy with Lourdes for 4 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, self esteem, anger management, and career difficulties
Lourdes is wonderful to talk to. She gives such good advice and reminds me how important it is to take care of myself and how to keep the focus of my life on me. She has helped me so much. I recommend her to anyone who needs help and motivation with self-esteem problems. She is awesome.
Written on Oct 08, 2020 after therapy with Lourdes for 2 months on issues concerning lgbt, relationship issues, intimacy-related issues, and compassion fatigue
Lourdes is attentive and gentle and helpful!
Written on Aug 19, 2020 after therapy with Lourdes for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, lgbt, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, and self esteem