Meet Araceli Vidales, LMFT

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Araceli Vidales, LMFT. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Araceli, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?

Out of necessity; either I sink or swim and I chose to be Dory and just keep swimming. The biggest risk I have taken was to leave my County job and start my own practice, Cultura Wellness Therapy. It was never something I planned on doing. I never saw myself as my own boss. I am the first one in my family to take the leap. I had to figure it out on my own. It was very scary, but like I say, “choose your scary”. At the time I had two under two, one child started showing signs of Autism, and the shutdown happened. I was under an enormous amount of stress, slept about 3-4 hours a night, and felt hopeless and depressed. My family would get the leftovers and work took the best of me. My life was so out of balance it was literally making me sick. I felt as though I was failing at everything. I had lost my confidence and felt lost as to how to move forward. I didn’t recognize myself anymore. Leaving the stability of a government job was never something I thought of. However, now I was a mother of two and my perspective shifted about what matters most. My NP put me on medical leave and it was the best thing she could have done because it gave me perspective as to how sick work was really making me. I was getting anxiety attacks at the thought of returning to work or even answering work emails. when it was time for me to return I almost threw up and decided something had to change. I spoke with my husband and he basically said to quit and that we would get through it. We didn’t have a savings to fall back on but my health and family came first. I had to redefine what my career was going to look like and I knew that working for an agency was not going to be it. I had no other option but to start my own business.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a First-Gen Latina, Licensed Marrige and Family Therapist, Reiki Practioner , wife, and mother of two girls. I am the eldest daughter of immigrant parents and a cycle breaker. I specialize in trauma therapy from a social justice and decolonized lensed. I understand the complexity of living in between two cultures; never quite fitting in either one, being the eldest comes with an inherited responsibility of being the “family manager”, the guilt that comes as you try to make your own life as an individual and as a cycle breaker. I know the stories, challenges, and barriers of my community. That is why my practice focuses First-Gen individuals and those who are Latino/a/x. My goal is two normalize emotional wellness and therapy among my community. My practice is different in the sense that culture is a huge part of therapy. We talk about ancestors, ancestral knowledge, and use ancestral tools as part of processing trauma. I truly believe reclaiming our roots and ancestral wisdom will help in grounding, healing generational wounds, and fighting imposter syndrome. I believe in a holistic approach to therapy and overall wellbeing. My practice often collaborates with other healers, and we hold healing circles that are affordable to my community. Holding healing circles helps to introduce a form of therapy without calling it therapy, however it is very therapeutic. I love being able to have a safe space for my community to spread awareness and make therapy accessible. I feel pride as a Latina therapist to be able to create a space specifically for First-Gens Latinos/a/x because I never had that when I looked for a therapist. When a person tells me they feel seen, understood without over-explaining, and validated due to having a Latina therapist… I know I am where I am meant to be because to me this is much bigger than myself and it is the legacy I want to leave behind.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I would say one of the most important qualities for me was having a good support system. I have close friends that never let me forget my worth, reminded me that I was a good therapist, and mother. My husband and close family supported my journey as an individual but also as our family moved through transitions. My advice is to surround yourself with people that uplift you and see your magic. Reach out to other entrepreneurs or in my case Latinapreneurs. Connecting with other women who were on a similar journey or have already been through it was very empowering. I didn’t feel alone and I made lasting friendships.

The second would be learning to let go, listen to my intuition, and my faith in God (Spirit/the Divine). Something inside me knew I was headed in the right direction. I didn’t listen to the fear or anxiety, I couldn’t. This had to work. Staying in the present and listening with an intuitive ear will often lead you in the right direction. I try to not overthink or get in my head about things that I can’t control. Doing that will drown my intuitive ear. I feel my intuition in my body. Sometimes it’s a sensation in my stomach or chest area, other times it’s an inner knowing that I cannot explain (nor do I try, I just accept it), and sometimes it’s like a voice inside my head tied with that inner knowing.

The third would be a mindset shift related to finances. I had work through my scarcity mindset if I was to open my own business. One thing that isn’t talked about enough, is how generational wounds manifest themselves when you become an entrepreneur. I had to and I am still working through those generational wounds related to poverty/finances. If this isn’t worked through it will get in the way of your success. I worked through this by doing my own personal therapy, hiring a business coach (before I started my practice), and also hypnotherapy. This is ongoing and there is no shame in acknowledging the areas you need support in. I don’t think I would have been as successful if I wouldn’t have shifted my mindset.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

In general, I think it is important to acknowledge one’s strengths and use them to succeed, however it is just as important to invest in your growth as an individual and as an entrepreneur. You don’t have to be an expert at everything (that’s unrealistic) but it is just as important to know and acknowledge the areas that aren’t your strength, in order to know how to move forward, plan ahead, or problem solve. As a therapist it is crucial that we do our own personal therapy in order to be able to manage our own personal triggers that may arise during session with a client. This helps us remain present and be able to discern what is my trauma versus the client’s and not react in a manner that may harm the client. If a therapist is not aware of their triggers they could cause unintentional harm to the therapeutic relationship. In addition, it also important to be mindful that we aren’t meant to serve everyone or know every single intervention; by being honest about our strengths, weakness, and preferences we can be better aligned with the ideal client for our practice. For example, my strength and preference is working with individual adults; working with small children and families is not my preference nor my strength. I can do it, however I would be doing a disservice to that population as most of my training is with adults and that is by choice.

I am diagnosed with ADHD, rather than overcompensate or be critical of myself, I have learned to lovingly accept the areas I am not so good at. It required having an honest conversation with myself about areas that I need support in, and not feel shame or less than because of it. I learned in doing so it was another way of taking care of myself and business. For example, attention to detail and completing administrative work is not my strength nor do I enjoy it and that will probably not change. I have accepted it and I am okay with it, however that meant that I needed to find a realistic solution . My solution was to hire a virtual assistant to handle admin and scheduling. I still do some admin work but not the bulk of it. If I had not been realistic with myself I would have hurt my business and my emotional wellbeing trying to do everything by myself. In other words, it would have cost my business more (due to mistakes or not completing important tasks) than to hire a virtual assistant. Being realistic without shame and guilt was the best thing I could have done for my peace of mind and business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.culturawellnesstherapy.com
• Instagram: @aracelividales.lmft