Lourdes E. Rios

Practice Philosophy

I believe that life is a series of bridges, each one tying different challenges and providing us opportunities for personal growth. When facing these challenges, seeking help in finding the answers becomes a part of the growth process. I know what often brings people to therapy are the challenges, life transitions, disconnection, heartbreak, trauma, and more. I believe that everyone who has experienced those ups and downs are incredibly resilient, and I like to see myself as a guide to support individuals in getting to a place of inner acceptance and peace. I truly see therapy as an opportunity to find meaning and new direction to our lives, regardless of the heaviness of our situation.

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My process in working with clients is collaborative and adaptable. I work with individuals in a mindful, relational, and body-centered way that encourages insight and change. I'm warm and interactive, inspired by the transformation that can occur when a person is met and understood emotionally where they have not been before. I work to help self-empower my clients when they are having difficulties so they can work through the process of achieving their goals. From the safe and confidential setting, I work in a positive and supportive way with each client to assist them in gaining insights into challenging issues.

Specialties

Trauma Therapy

I am trained to help individuals work through a variety of concerns that range from trauma recovery to mental performance. Many of us do not want to accept uncomfortable emotions, such as depression or anxiety. I help clients identify their values and the aspects of life worth suffering for. When we can accept and allow discomfort, we can live a vital life filled with value and meaning, as opposed to waiting until we feel "better". Through insight, I will help you in the process of empowering you so that you can better understand your personal history, and the important role that history plays in the present. I collaborate with clients to create meaning and draw out authentic living. Viewing things with a trauma informed and attachment lens to look at relationships that I find is paramount in supporting healing. We are wounded in relationships, but can heal through them.

Couples Therapy

I am passionate about helping couples reconnect, stop ineffective communication patterns, heal emotional wounds, and navigate mismatched values and desires. I believe that any couple deserves the chance to rebuild their relationship and to both give and receive love. I have observed that with appropriate guidance, people have the inner resources they need to transform, internally and within their relationship. I will guide you to embark on a more productive journey where you and your partner can integrate new insights about yourselves as well as one another, and move past old wounds, mismatched sexual needs, or communicating styles.

Addictions Counseling

My focus is on improving the person as a whole, psychologically, emotionally, and socially. Addictions can run your life. I believe addiction is a symptom to trauma. By healing your trauma, you attend to a wound that is underlying the addictive energy that blocks us from feeling in our lives. I help individuals become aware of the wound beneath the surface, so they can gain a better understanding of the root cause, while helping them navigate a healing process to wholeness.

Alternative lifestyles

With so much exposure to new and alternative ways of embracing marriage and relationships, more and more couples are exploring alternative lifestyles within the marriage. When I speak about alternative lifestyles, I am talking about anything that deviates from the expected and usual monogamous, heterosexual marriage. Some lifestyles include the swinger lifestyle, which is when a couple may choose to swap partners with another couple, threesomes/foursomes, which may be in the form of polygamy (marriage with more than one wife or husband, respectively) or just introducing a new member(s) occasionally or on a short term basis. LGBTQ lifestyles are another style where although married, one partner, or perhaps both parties, have another partner of the same sex, or may be involved in a lifestyle as another gender, with another gender, etc. outside the marriage. The variations, labels, and titles are endless. I help individuals and couples communicate openly, while practicing transparency.

Women’s Issues

Whether it's around sexual or reproductive health and freedom, mothering, marital/partnership expectations, violence/abuse, thinking and planning life after menopause, infertility, sexual issues, self-esteem, body issues, trauma or women who are in the postpartum stage of motherhood, this is the space to talk about it and become empowered. Non-equitable value and pay, educational or career pursuits, or being too or non-feminine, this is the space to talk about it and become empowered. Aware of societal conditioning and its impact on women in a multitude of ways, I'm here to support you and help clear what impedes your fullness and strength.

Ketamine- Assisted Therapy:

In addition to talk therapy, I offer the possibility of a deeper consciousness, expanding the psychotherapy experience. Ketamine works on different pathways in the brain compared to conventional antidepressants. Ketamine is believed to lead to neuroplasticity and affect new changes in the brain. Ketamine is not for every client, so after having a few talk therapy sessions, we can determine together if this might be the right treatment for you. Ketamine, used during a psychotherapy session, can be very beneficial. It can assist the individual in gaining clarity of previous damaging thought patterns, and thus making the decision to improve your quality of life.

Parenting:

Early intervention is essential to the wellbeing of families and individuals. Educating parents (of individuals in the Autistic Spectrum Disorder as well as other varying abilities) regarding family dynamics and sexuality is also an important part of early intervention.

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Sex Therapy:

Sex and sexuality are important areas of concern. My work with both individuals and couples frequently involves helping them reach greater levels of fulfillment sexually. Areas I am very comfortable helping with include erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, painful intercourse, lack of sexual desire, healing sex addiction, cultivating eroticism, addressing the impact of sexual trauma, cultivating emotional connection during eroticism, loving touch, providing sexual pleasure, as well as engaging with couples around alternative sexual lifestyles. I am Board Certified by the International Institute of Clinical Sexology.

Background:

I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Board Certified Sex Therapist. I have worked in the medical field for over twenty-five years in different capacities that range from bedside nursing, leadership, and Case management. During my time as a counselor, I have worked in the field of Cognitive and Emotional Wellness with Trauma, Anxiety, Addictions, Relationship Issues , Women's Issues, Men's Issues, Parenting Problems and Difficulties, Divorce, and Sexuality. Currently I’m a Doctoral Candidate in Sexology at IICS.

When I am not working as a therapist, I enjoy yoga, dancing, reading, and spending time with my children.