Today we’d like to introduce you to Alejandra Pena.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m originally from El Salvador – I grew up there surrounded by a supportive family and great friendships. I grew up with many privileges in my home country and am incredibly grateful for the support systems I had growing up and the access I had to a good education and opportunities. After graduating high school in El Salvador, I attended college in California and once I graduated, I decided to do one year of volunteer work in Mexico. Once that year ended, I was looking forward to moving back home again. I worked as a teacher at a private school in El Salvador for three years – and I loved building connections with my students and being a supportive adult in their lives. As much as I enjoyed teaching teenagers, I knew that’s not what I wanted to do professionally, but it did confirm that I one hundred percent wanted to be a therapist. After having delayed applying for a masters for a year, I finally applied to various programs in the US. I had never imagined myself moving to Texas – ever, but one of my best friends was living here at the time, and she encouraged me to come visit her and visit a university that had a Counseling Program. I visited her and she showed me what a great city Austin could be – and I was really craving having friends nearby at the time. When the time came to choose where I would be attending graduate school, Austin, TX was the clear choice. I moved to Austin around mid-August 2014. In all honesty, when I initially came here, my plan was to complete my program and move back home – to provide support to “mi gente”. However, Austin began feeling like home very quickly.
I had two friends from back home living here, and then we began meeting other Salvadoreños and Latinos who had all ended up here in Austin and somehow, we became a family. We were all in similar stages in life, we all had our families far away, and we were all figuring out who we were as adults. Also, my program and the connections I made there were incredible and I couldn’t imagine leaving Austin just yet. So by the time I graduated with a Masters in Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy in 2016, I had no intention of going back to El Salvador. I had done my internship in a great non-profit and began searching for a job also in the non-profit world – and shortly after graduating, I landed my dream job in a local non-profit working as a counselor for survivors of violence.
In the past five years, I have specialized in working with Spanish-speaking clients, Latinx clients, and immigrant clients of all ages, and I’ve enjoyed it so much. Around 2017, I began seeing 1-3 clients a week in a private practice setting out of my supervisor’s office (outside of my full-time non-profit job). I enjoyed working with different clients and in a different setting, so I kept it going. In 2020 I finally launched my own (small) private practice – and that’s Alejandra Peña Therapy. I have a small caseload of clients I see on a weekly or bi-weekly basis and I absolutely love having that additional experience under my belt. At my non-profit job, I still work full-time, but I now supervise other clinicians/counselors, so my business/private practice allows me the opportunity to keep offering therapeutic services to clients at a consistent basis.
I’ve enjoyed my journey to get where I am today. I’m getting married this year, and my future husband and I are in the process of buying a house in the area – so with that coming up and my current career and business, I definitely see Austin as a home (at least for the near future).
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
As I mentioned earlier, I definitely had a lot of privileges growing up, so in a way, it’s been a smooth-ish road. However, moving to the US was not easy and deciding that this would be my home has been a struggle. Being an immigrant in this country is not easy – there’s a level of fear and fear of rejection that never truly goes away. Being away from my family away from my culture, my country, my native language and lifelong friends has been consistently difficult. I’m thankful I’ve been able to be surrounded by friends, co-workers and even clients here in Austin who have experienced similar feelings, and that’s been helpful in not feeling alone in this.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have my Private Practice based in Austin TX where I see a small caseload of clients. I’m a Latinx Salvadoran therapist, am fully bilingual in Spanish and English and have knowledge of both Hispanic/Latinx and American culture. My identity and life story have shaped my passion to support the populations I serve, and it has motivated me to offer social justice oriented, culturally affirming and inclusive therapeutic services.
No single “type” of therapy is the correct one for everyone, so I work with my clients and draw from various modalities to help them figure out what will work best to achieve their goals. I use a trauma-informed, feminist, collaborative and culturally responsive approach to therapy, and I’m a strong believer in the power of healing through connection and collaboration. My initial focus with my clients is to create a safe space for you to share your story in a judgement-free zone as we work on building a genuine and strong therapeutic relationship.
As a trauma therapist, I help individuals cope with some of the toughest moments of their lives. I work really well with people who are committed to their healing journey, and even though there’s not always a clear path or starting point, that’s when I come in to help explore your options. Many of my clients have experienced trauma in their lives, and in our therapeutic work, we explore ways to continue healing from it and focus on you learning more about yourself and your strengths.
During the past several years, I have supported adults, children, teenagers and families from diverse backgrounds and experiences in their personal healing process; helping individuals and families heal from family violence, sexual assault, sexual abuse, traumas related to systemic violence and other traumas.
I am passionate about working with individuals, couples and families from diverse backgrounds, identities and experiences, including people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. I specialize in providing support for Latinx/Hispanic and bi/multi-cultural clients.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I am an advocate of self-care and the importance of healthy boundaries – and I talk about this with my clients and friends consistently – finding whatever self-care looks like for you – make sure you’re doing it! Also, being able to set healthy boundaries with work, family and yourself is incredibly important. Keeping that in mind, due to my upcoming life changes, current case load and job responsibilities, I will not be taking any new clients in my private practice until August or September of this year. I know I’ll be having very busy months coming up, so it doesn’t feel like the best time to add to my caseload. However, you are definitely able to find other resources on my website, or you can reach out to me for help in connecting you with someone else.
Pricing:
- $125 per session
Contact Info:
- Email: alejandra@alejandrapena.com
- Website: www.alejandrapena.com
- Instagram: @alepenatherapy
