Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Gouvea.
Ana, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor that moved from Brazil to do a Ph.D. in 1997. I started my career as a linguist, professor and researcher. I have a Ph.D. in linguistics and I was a professor at Florida International University (FIU) for several years. At FIU, I developed a research program to study language development in bilingual toddlers. This research was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Although I always had a genuine interest in teaching and research, I started questioning the impact of my research on people’s daily life and how my academic accomplishments impacted and helped individuals and the society in general. These questions inspired me to make professional changes and I decided to become a Mental Health Counselor to fulfill my strong desire to help people outside the academic world.
I did my master’s in the Mental Health Counseling program at FIU. During my internship, I worked with victims of domestic violence, trauma, PTSD, and visited some of my clients at a shelter for domestic violence. After graduating, I worked in Mental Health agencies, where I provided mental health services to children and families within their communities. I had the opportunity to treat children and adolescents with ADHD, trauma, anxiety, depression, abuse, anger issues, oppositional defiance disorder among others.
I am currently working in private practice and offering psychotherapy/counseling services to individuals, couples and families in different languages (English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian). I also established AUM Life Wellness with the mission of promoting self-growth, balance, quality of life, and well-being to different populations. AUM Life Wellness offers workshops, mindfulness and support groups for grief, teens, stress, anxiety, mindfulness for beginners, among others. I also write monthly articles in Portuguese on Mental Health and Mindfulness topics for the Brazilian Magazine Acontece.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
To change careers was not a smooth path. I had an established career as a professor and researcher and I had spent a big chunk of my professional life involved with academia. I still remember the surprised face of the director of the Mental Health Counseling program at FIU when I was trying to explain to her that I was applying to the Master’s program. Then, suddenly, I was taking classes with students that could be my own students at FIU. I remember sometimes students greeting me at FIU and I had to think for a couple of seconds if they were my classmates or my own students. Also, there was the economic burden: pay for the master, work underpaid as an intern, and then later on establish my own business with no business experience. At the beginning, it was also overwhelming to work as a full-time professor and take some classes at the same time. Later on, I had to quit academia to work as a full-time counselor intern and then as a full-time Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Thus, it was a struggling experience in some sense.
Please tell us about AUM Life Wellness.
At AUM Life Wellness, I offer psychotherapy/counseling services, workshops, mindfulness and support groups. I have certifications in Trauma treatment and in Mindfulness for treating stress/anxiety (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, MBSR) and for treating children and teens. I have experience in the treatment of trauma, PTSD, domestic violence, grief, ADHD, abuse, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, anger management, opposition defiance disorder (ODD), self-esteem issues, and stress management.
I am proud of offering respectful culturally-sensitive counseling services in different languages with the aim of promoting self-growth, balance, empowerment, quality of life, and well being. My approach is client-centered with an emphasis on healthy human development and human strengths and it also incorporates evidence-based techniques. AUM Life Wellness offers a holistic approach to mental health that includes psychotherapy, mindfulness meditation, stress reduction programs to help clients improve their lives, fulfill their goals and be happier.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think the most important characteristic to my success is perseverance. I go for my dreams and ideals and I am always trying to improve. Because I wanted to help people, I changed careers to fulfill my dream of becoming a mental health counselor. I could only achieve this dream with perseverance. I am always trying to improve and become a better professional.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.anagouvea.com
- Phone: 305 918- 2533
- Email: dranagouvea@gmail.com
- Instagram: @dranagouvea, @aum_life_wellness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dranagouvea
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