In Pursuit of a PhD

For those of you who are interested or curious about the PhD track in therapy, here are two of my colleagues talking about their experiences in higher education. Viridiana Sigala and Federico Mendez discuss balancing personal and work life, first generation student struggles, bilingualism, marginalization, biculturalism, and more.   My new Patreon—> https://www.patreon.com/Therapistcristal   Here’s more about today’s guests:   Federico Mendez, (he/him), is a cisgendered, Hispanic, gay, male who is a bilingual (English/Spanish) therapist in North Richland Hills, TX. He sees individuals, couples/marriage and families struggling with anxiety, PTSD, trauma, marital issues, sexuality, and overall relationship issues. He has his own private practice, Intimacy Counseling & Consulting, serving clients online throughout the State of Texas or in-person in the Fort Worth, TX areas. He is also the Director of Veteran Mental Health Services at a local non-profit providing therapy to Veterans and their families. Federico is also pursuing his PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth with research interest in male sexual fluidity and romantic relationships. You can reach him by visiting his website at: www.intimacycc.com or on social media FB: @Intimacy.cc or TikTok: @intimacycounseling or IG: freddy_junior2000 Viridiana Sigala (she/her) LCSW-S, is a bilingual (English/Spanish) clinician who has experience in medical social work, mental health services with Native American and Hispanic children, adolescents and adults, crisis intervention, and mental health program administration. Her research interests include mental health disparities in minority communities, cultural competence, community-based behavioral health practice, and immigration. She is currently the Mental Health Coordinator at Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and has been there almost 6 years now. Viri is a Ph.D.Candidate at Our Lady of the Lake University pursuing her doctoral degree in Social work. She is also a part time faculty professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. You can reach her at [email protected]