Take Your First Step Towards Healing Today – Exclusive Interview With Alicia Cadiz
- Sep 30, 2024
- 5 min read
Alicia Cadiz is a Licensed Psychotherapist, CEO, and Founder of Healing with Alicia, a mental health counseling private practice. She focuses on helping others navigate relationships, breakups, and addiction. Alicia will support you in gaining your confidence back and help you rebuild your self-esteem. In addition, she has extensive experience working in the mental health community as well as the Florida prison system. Her counseling style holistically connects the mind, body, and soul, as one in a safe place where you can fully trust your therapist.
Alicia Cadiz, Licensed Psychotherapist, LMHC
Please tell us more about your life and your private practice – healing with Alicia.
I was born and raised in northern New Jersey with my mom, dad, and two younger sisters. As a child, I was fascinated with animals, reading books, and creating art. Early on, I knew I wanted to work in a field that revolved around helping others. I was always intrigued by the realm of criminal justice because I had many family members who were first responders. However, I knew that being a first responder was not my calling, yet the psychological aspect behind running into a burning building, while the biological response was to run out, was where I eventually immersed myself. Psychological research is exactly what my heart desired, and today, where I feel the most grounded and connected to my purpose and identity.
I became obsessed with research and, in no time, became consumed by the late teachings of Carl Jung, a Swiss-based psychiatrist and psychotherapist. The most prominent teachings of Carl Jung were his work regarding the conscious versus the unconscious mind. His research is heavily dependent on the aspect of intuition, thought, and feeling. I believe these three characteristics are essential for reaching the highest potential of everyday life.
I graduated from Ramapo College of NJ in 2019 with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Criminology. I was fortunate enough to then attend Manhattan College, in NY, and obtained my Masters in Mental Health Counseling in 2021. Half of my Master’s program was in person, where I would drive across the George Washington Bridge every day, and half was online, due to the pandemic. During these two years, I was able to work at a mental health agency in Rockland County, NY, as well as work on campus helping veterans acclimate from deployment life to academic-civilian life. After graduating, I moved to Florida and knew in order to fully understand the work that I did and can do in the future within the first responder realm, I needed to experience what the other side of this looked like, hence why I found myself working as a mental health therapist in an all-male, state incarcerated, maximum security prison here in Florida.
I helped the incarcerated population overcome and navigate addiction, listened while they experienced the trials and tribulations of having a life sentence, and provided de-escalation, crisis interventions, and behavioral management techniques. During this two-year period of my life, nothing can ever prepare you for what you will endure and witness on an everyday basis. I worked twelve-hour days, five days a week, from the moment I rolled out of bed to the moment I fell asleep, prison was all I thought about and how I was going to level up and get out. I managed to buckle down and study within those 12-hour days, and passed my state licensure exam (NCMHCE) after acquiring my postmaster hours in the prison (2,000 hours = 2 years). I always knew in my heart that this job placement was temporary and that this was not the population I was meant to serve for the rest of my life, however I am grateful for what I learned inside the gate, the lives I made a positive impact too, and the friendships I made with coworkers that I will forever treasure.
Ultimately, working in this environment taught me the meaning of hard work and dedication and gave me the ambition to make a change. I was raised by my parents to have a resilient mindset, that I can achieve anything in this lifetime, not only if I set my mind to it, but if I work hard enough for it, as long as I believe in myself and my power to make a difference in the world. Therefore, I was able to make the jump and launch my private practice, Healing with Alicia, at the start of 2024.
How do you incorporate a holistic approach into your therapeutic practice?
My therapeutic process combines psychoanalytic and person-centered therapy, holistically connecting the mind, body, and soul as one. I utilize the teachings of Carl Jung, and help clients make parallels, connections, and analyze their unisonous mind, that is ultimately holding them hostage from reaching their highest potential in their conscious waking life. It's my job to help clients navigate their stories and pinpoint their strengths that will assist them in overcoming the things that challenge them. It takes courage to seek a more fulfilling and happier life and to take the first steps toward change. I am here to support and empower you on your journey to healing.
What services does Healing with Alicia offer?
Healing with Alicia offers individual therapy, couples therapy, holistic guidance, first responder therapy, therapy for therapists (as well as other healthcare workers), group therapy, and mentorships to other aspiring therapists. You can read more about the services I offer here.
What would you like other aspiring therapists to know?
I would like other aspiring therapists to know that they are not alone in this field. I see you, I hear you, and I am with you on this journey. Think about how you want to make a difference in this world. What type of impact do you want to make? Now run with it. You are more than capable of completing your master's program and your internship. Take the internship that scares you and the one that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Work with as many populations as you can to see what age group you connect with most. You are more than capable of making a difference in the world, it starts with believing in yourself.
Where do you see your career taking you?
While being a psychotherapist will always be my primary role, I will consistently expand and build my practice to not only include other therapists but also provide other forms of therapy to clients. Together, we will incorporate and stay up to date with Ketamine and other Psychedelic therapy treatments for first responders, group yoga classes, holistic therapy aspects of human design, having more opportunities for aspiring therapists, and, most importantly, creating a class that is based on Carl Jung’s teachings.
What are some of your favorite mottos that you use since being a therapist?
What you choose not to change in your life, you choose to keep.
Stop begging people for the bare minimum.
Focus on what you can control.
It’s not your responsibility to heal your partner's trauma.
Stop fighting for someone who is ok with losing you.
Every rejection is a redirection in life.
Stick with the people who don’t change the subject when you are discussing something painful.
What if it all works out?
Book a session with Alicia today: Book here!
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