Damaris Cortés-Figueroa, LPC (12047)
Damaris Cortés-Figueroa speaks three (3) languages: English, Spanish, and American Sign Language (ASL). Damaris was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States when she was 18 years old. Damaris loves to listen and talk to people. Her goal is to guide them to identify their strengths and to do what they love. She also helps people identify their weaknesses and encourages them to see the positive out of the negative.
Qualifications and Background
Damaris Cortés Figueroa earned her Master of Science in Psychology from the University of Phoenix in July 2013. She also earned her master’s in counseling program from Liberty University. Damaris graduated as Magna Cum Laude from both programs. Damaris also earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Phoenix in 2011, in which she graduated with a GPA of 3.9. In 2009, she completed her minor on Associate of Arts in Human Services Management/Social Work. In 2014, Damaris completed the National Counselor Certification (NCC).
During her graduate program, she interned for six years at Access Family Services in Asheville, North Carolina. There, she worked with children and adults of all ages. She provided individual and family therapy for clients, regardless of gender, race, or socioeconomic status. Her clients were children (ages 2 and up), teens, adults, couples, and families. The various populations and situations she has treated are emotional issues, trauma, anxiety, depression, grief work, PTSD, ADHD, and parenting training, among others.
She provided individual therapy to adults in the community with varying mental health diagnoses, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders. She also co-facilitated a weekly children’s mental health group that is focused on Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and Domestic Violence’s groups. As an LPCA, she has worked with youth, providing intensive in-home services and as an outpatient therapist for both children and adults.
Presently, Damaris has completed more than four thousand five hundred (4,500) hours of supervised counseling/psychotherapy for her Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)/ Licensure. Damaris works as an outpatient/school-based counselor, providing services to both children and adults. Some of the issues she is currently addressing include understanding and managing anxiety, defiant behaviors, bipolar disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and navigating a new mental health and/or physical health diagnosis. She also works with clients who have experienced or are experiencing divorce, bereavement, substance abuse and addiction, and depression.
Damaris’s theoretical orientation is integrative. She is most heavily influenced by cognitive-behavioral, dialectical behavioral, person-centered, and solution-focused approaches to counseling. She pursues a safe, ethical, and consistent relationship with her clients while challenging them to observe the ways their thinking impacts their world. Damaris’s goal is to help her clients gain autonomy and independence in their everyday lives as they work hard toward their identified goals.
Damaris’s areas of competence include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral techniques, Triple P, Psycho-education, Play Therapy, Breathing Techniques, Grounding Techniques, and Relationship Enhancement.