Today we’d like to introduce you to Tasneem Campos
Hi Tasneem, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My career path was set from the time I was 5 years old – I was going to be a doctor. I liked science, I wanted to help people, but mostly I loved the validation I got from adults when I told them I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. The problem was that I didn’t actually enjoy medicine. I volunteered with my psychiatrist grandmother, my ER doctor uncle…I just wasn’t passionate about it. So finally, halfway through college I decided to go to Costa Rica and do a month-long internship with my uncle who worked as a doctor at a public clinic. I thought this would definitely ignite my love for medicine once and for all. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.
Since a hefty portion of my self-worth was tied up in this doctor dream, now that I knew medicine was not in the cards, I felt aimless. I graduated from UCLA, moved back to Miami in defeat, and I started working as a recovery coach at Oliver-Pyatt Centers (OPC). At OPC I was exposed to clients with eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, severe trauma histories, personality disorders…and I would spend 12 hours at a time with these women, helping them with their needs, getting to know their stories. This was the first seed that was planted towards my therapy career, although I didn’t know it at the time.
After two and a half years at OPC, I was in a rut and I needed a drastic change. I decided to travel to Rishikesh, India for a month to complete a yoga teacher training. This experience was incredible. I stayed in a converted hotel with 9 other women from all over the world right on the Ganges River and overlooking the Himalayas. We did yoga for hours every day and we took classes in anatomy, philosophy, breathing, and meditation. I knew then that I wanted to teach yoga for a living…
Until I learned that yoga did not pay very well. I was burning through my savings and couldn’t keep up. My mentor at the time told me I should go back to school to get my MSW in order to make my yoga a viable career, and I listened. I enrolled in the MSW masters program at Florida International University, and during that program, I discovered that I wanted to do more than teach yoga – I wanted to be a therapist. Specifically an addiction therapist.
I landed my first therapist job at Family Recovery Specialists, I was hired by Ray Estefania and Ana Moreno (some pretty heavy hitters in the addiction field in Miami). I fell in love with this work, and in two years I was the Clinical Director. Unfortunately, two years after that the company went under (Ray and Ana had sold it right before hiring me), and I took this as a sign from the universe that I should go for my dream – be in private practice.
That’s what I’m doing now! My practice is called Talk2Taz, LLC. I use a combination of Accelerated Resolution Therapy, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness, Acceptance Resolution Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help clients with addiction, eating disorders, and trauma. I work with adults and teens 16 and up. I love what I do so much and am always trying to learn more. I am in a professional book club in which we are reading Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, and I am going to complete a training next year for Internal Family Systems.
Alright, 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?
My road has not always been smooth – it has had plenty of bumps, hills, and valleys. Realizing medicine was not my calling was a huge identity crisis for me, and it took me a long time to let that future go. When I was teaching yoga and burning through my savings, I was riddled with anxiety. I had quit my job at Oliver-Pyatt Centers and gone all the way to India on my own Eat, Pray, Love journey, and I was failing. Graduate school was absolutely grueling – between my classes, my full-time job (I had gone back to Oliver-Pyatt Centers at this point), and internships, I was working 80 hours per week. All of these experiences were very humbling.
My most recent humbling challenge happened in May 2024. I had been supporting myself in private practice for about a year, during which I got engaged and married and was therefore not fully focused on my practice. After my wedding, I realized my practice was not doing well, and I started to spiral. I felt like I was failing. The thing was – I was trying to make it work as an exclusively private pay therapist. I had fallen prey to comparing myself to others and I thought being a private pay therapist meant I was “successful.” But it wasn’t working. So I took a leap of faith and decided to accept insurance – and it was the BEST decision I could have made. I have more than doubled my caseload, I love being able to offer services to people who cannot afford private pay, and I have gotten back to why I love this work so much.
As you know, we’re big fans of Talk2Taz, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My business is a private therapy practice in which I treat primarily individuals ages 16+, but also couples and families, who are struggling with addiction, eating disorders, and/or trauma. What sets me apart is how easily I build rapport with clients. I pride myself on establishing meaningful connections and uncovering deeply rooted issues within the first session. I also pride myself on how nonjudgmental I am as a therapist. I have a unique way of putting aside any biases, being completely present with my clients, and giving them the utmost compassion and empathy.
Two services I provide to better help my clients move through what is keeping them stuck are Accelerated Resolution Therapy and Internal Family Systems. Accelerated Resolution Therapy utilizes eye movements and visual imagery to heal and redefine painful memories, beliefs, sensations, images, or traumas. Internal Family Systems offers a compassionate way to help my clients achieve a deeper understanding of all the parts of themselves, to heal their wounded parts, and to become a more integrated, confident, self-compassionate self. I also utilize Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and mindfulness.
My practice is mostly virtual, but I can also see people in person in Miami. I am licensed in Florida and Virginia, and I can accept the following insurances: Aetna, United Healthcare, Oxford, Oscar, and Cigna.
How do you define success?
If I am living my life successfully, I am making choices that align with my values, I am living bravely and authentically, I am showing up in my relationships in a consistent and loving way, and when I am quiet with myself I feel peaceful and content.
Pricing:
- Private pay rate: 150/hour
- I accept insurance
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.talk2taz.com
- Instagram: https://Www.instagram.com/talk2taz
- Other: https://Www.psychologytoday.com/profile/779398
Image Credits
Personal Photo: Nat Marie Photography
