Are you tired of looking for bilingual therapists in your area and not finding one?
Have you had experiences in therapy where you feel like the difference between yours and your therapist’s cultural background has an impact on your ability to feel comfortable and more open to share your struggles and your hopes for therapy?
Are you tired of hearing people telling you, “You speak great English! You could work with anyone”?
Is working with someone with a similar cultural background important to you?
Is conducting therapy sessions in Spanish (your language of origin) important to you?
Hispanic Immigrants and people who identify themselves as Latinos (for whom Spanish is their language of origin), experience at times the certainty that they want to start therapy to deal with a concern, but being unable to find a Spanish bilingual therapist might discourage them from even trying to reach out for support in the first place.
There are many latinos that would prefer to engage in therapy in their language of origin
According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2016 Hispanics and Latinos made up almost 28% of New York City’s population. The Department of City planning gives us more numbers. There are over 2.4 million Hispanics who reside in New York City, which is more than any other city in the United States. Half of all New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home.
If you identify yourself as Hispanic or Latino and your language of origin is Spanish, it is not uncommon to prefer to engage in therapy with a therapist who is fluent in your language of origin. Engaging in Spanish speaking therapy can bring bilingual people a sense of warmth, openness, safety and comfort for those who feel that this is an important factor for them. It can only improve your experience if it matters to you. This can happen to people who are fully bilingual (or even if they speak more than two languages) too. It’s a matter of simple preference.
As immigrants ourselves and also as a fully bilingual therapists, we can relate to the preference of speaking in our language of origin under certain circumstances. For example, we would rather speak in our language of origin when we are at home with our family. If we have guests, we are comfortable speaking in English as well.
We may also feel more comfortable speaking in our language of origin when we are getting important information about our health; it just feels better and clearer to understand. Some people who have lived in the US for many years may have a preference to speak English during therapy sessions but they like to have the option to switch to Spanish as needed, and they value working with someone who is bicultural as well.
The good news is that at our group practice we are Spanish Bilingual and Bicultural therapists who reside in New York and if having your sessions conducted in Spanish feels more comfortable to you, we would be more than happy to work with you in that capacity. Both of us are bilingual. Daniele is actually trilingual (he also speaks Italian) and bicultural (italian-american) and Marcela is bicultural and identifies as a latina immigrant. If this is what you are looking for, you are in the right place.
What does spanish speaking therapy look like and how can we help?
Spanish speaking therapy provides a confidential, safe, respectful and trusting environment where you can search for clarity, feel free to share your concerns and difficulties, as well as explore the attempted solutions to your dilemma and identify your strengths and progress as you are facing a particular difficulty in life.
People struggle with different dilemmas in life ALL THE TIME and many times, people just find themselves stuck as they attempt to face these challenges. Therapy can help you navigate through these challenges in a productive and meaningful way.
In addition to providing a supportive environment to ease your current dilemmas, we believe that you are the expert in your own life.
Through our work together, we are eager to get to know you better and support you as you find that coping with your difficulty is possible, and you can feel in control of your emotions and your life again.
We can help you explore and learn different ways of dealing with stress and frustration by building on your own qualities, and developing any new skills that can help you cope with your difficulties in a more positive way. We can share with you some of the tools and resources that others struggling with similar challenges (including ourselves) have found helpful.
In our practice, we believe that the role we assume in our families and our relationships has an impact on who we are and how we face particular challenges, so part of what we do in therapy will be to explore some of your family history and what matters to you the most so you can find alternatives that meet your values and fulfill your expectations in a meaningful way.
We can also identify what does not seem to be working very well and figure out which changes to your life could lead to more positive outcomes.
We have worked with individuals, couples and families who have a preference to have their sessions in Spanish for over 15 years.
We can tell you that if you feel more comfortable with a bilingual/bicultural therapist, you can gain more from the therapeutic process. You will more easily benefit from a supportive environment where you will find it possible to move on with life and regain a sense of control and joy, in spite of life dilemmas and the difficulties you may be facing.
You may still have questions about engaging in bilingual therapy
Is it okay if during my sessions, I do feel like an idea can be better expressed in English than in Spanish, even when I feel more comfortable having my sessions in Spanish?
Yes, absolutely. It is very common for Hispanics who live in NYC and who are exposed to both English and Spanish through the media, TV, coworkers, colleagues to find that they at times may experience moments where they might be able to better express an idea in one or another language. As bilingual therapists, we can relate to this situation and this would not have a negative impact on the benefits you can get from engaging in bilingual therapy, if this is your preference.
We have been to other professionals who claim they are bilingual and then we are disappointed about their bilingual skills.
We hear you. This is unfortunately not uncommon but I can assure you that our proficiency level in both languages (English and Spanish) is excellent and we feel confident that we can fulfill your preference of engaging in Bilingual Spanish therapy if this is what you chose. If you are Italian and have a preference for working with a fully bilingual therapist, Daniele will be your best choice.
In our practice, we understand that in many latino communities we grew up with the idea that it is better to deal with your own issues “at home” than to engage in therapy to solve them.
Unfortunately, this is very common. In most Latino cultures, the idea about going to therapy is still stigmatized and often a source of shame to this day for many latinos who are in need of additional support.
Latinos may experience feeling like a failure because seeking help can be perceived as a “weakness” in most latino cultures.
Of course, this is not the experience for all Latinos and it doesn’t have to be like that for you. Also remember that the personal information that you share with any of us in your therapy sessions is confidential (with the exception of you or someone else being in danger) so you will have a safe environment in which you can look for solutions to your dilemma.
Remember that everyone struggles in life at one time or another, and it is okay to reach out for help when you need it. I believe that it actually takes a great deal of courage to take that step and look for support. We all need it at some point.
With all the expenses I have, is it really worth it to pay for therapy?
This is a valid and common concern for anyone who is thinking about starting therapy and frankly, adding an additional expense considering the high cost of living for New Yorkers.
If you decide to do it, it will cost you not only financially but it also requires a commitment of your time, your effort, and your attention to issues that can be difficult and challenging to face.
Nevertheless, your mental health is as important as your physical health, and therapy can honestly be the best investment in your sense of well-being.
People tend to invest in their physical well-being without thinking too much about it, because it’s a “necessary” expense. Think about it, if you were in physical pain most of the time, most likely you would end up going to the doctor to figure out what’s causing it and seek relief or a solution through treatment.
Taking care of your mental and emotional well-being is extremely important too.
The truth is, that feeling like you are stuck in life has a HUGE cost in your life and it is not only a financial one. There are other undesirable consequences when you are feeling stuck about a particular challenge in your life.
It affects your relationships, the way you feel every day when you wake up (emotionally and physically), the way you can perform at work, school or your daily life tasks, your sense of personal development and at a spiritual level you may feel disconnected or lost.
You can feel like you lack a sense of community, and like your values and your lifestyle are mismatched. You have been doing things that do not seem aligned with what you deeply care about and what you feel speaks to your heart and values.
When considering if therapy is a good investment or not, you can ask yourself a few questions:
Can I afford not to do anything about this?
What will my life look like 3 months from now if I don’t do anything about it?
What will I be missing if I decide to postpone it once again?
What could I gain if I decide to invest in addressing my concerns within the context of support and confidentiality?
Ultimately, the investment in therapy might be very little compared to the long-term costs of not doing anything about what you are struggling with.
But so many people have worse problems than I do, shouldn’t I be able to figure this out for my relationship on my own?
Everyone struggles at different points in life.
During transitions in life, we tend to be more vulnerable and therefore we can easily get stuck in the process.
We can also have clear memories about past challenges that we were successfully able to deal with, but this one is taking the best out of us, and that can happen too. There is nothing wrong with you for that. Sometimes we manage to figure things out on our own but sometimes we don’t. It happens.
We cannot possibly have all the solutions for all the challenges we encounter, and therapy is one way to figure things out in the context of a supportive environment where you can further explore different options that you may have not considered.
People who search for therapy have usually attempted different ways to face their dilemmas but for different reasons, they cannot always succeed.
There are many things you can do to face the challenges of a particular transition in your life, and you probably have already tried a few options but have not found relief yet and do not feel better either.
In therapy, you can further explore other possibilities and still figure things out as you go, on your own but in the context of a supportive relationship with your therapist.
If you’re interested in working with us through online therapy in spanish, please schedule a free 20-minute consultation call or fill out our contact form to discuss beginning therapy with us.
