Eddie (Eder) Perez
MEC-SC, LAC, Behavioral Health Clinician
Eddie is a dedicated professional from Southern Arizona with roots in a tight-knit Mexican-American family. He values education and is currently pursuing his PhD, emphasizing the significance of multicultural competencies in therapy. Eddie is an esteemed therapist at Trauma Recovery Services of Arizona, where he has honed his skills and deepened his commitment to holistic client care.
Eddie is passionately driven to help individuals, particularly those grappling with trauma, to uncover their genuine selves. He is adept at working with couples, families, and individuals, offering a safe and nurturing environment for them to explore and heal. With Eddie, therapy is a partnership—a shared journey that empowers clients to experience profound and lasting growth. Eddie's specialty lies in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, supplemented by a touch of Person-Centered Therapy. This integrated approach emphasizes helping clients identify and transform harmful thought patterns, subsequently influencing their behaviors and emotions positively.
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He is also well-versed in Affirmative Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, and Structural Family Therapy. Moreover, he is trained in multiple therapeutic techniques, which he tailors to fit each client's unique needs. Beyond his dedication to mental health and recovery, Eddie has a profound appreciation for cultural contexts. Growing up amidst challenges like poverty and witnessing the consequences of inadequate care, Eddie recognizes the powerful influence of cultural and familial ties. He cherishes the values and lessons from his upbringing and integrates them into his counseling approach.
In addition to his professional pursuits, Eddie holds his family and cultural traditions close to his heart. He believes that understanding one's cultural background can play an instrumental role in therapeutic success. Grounded in his heritage and experiences, Eddie continually seeks to broaden his perspectives, ensuring he remains respectful and open-minded, and prioritizing the well-being of his clients above all.
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In his own words:
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When I first started at Trauma Recovery Services of Arizona, my objective was to build a strong relationship with my clients. My initial goal was to learn the behaviors of individuals in private practice setting to truly understand their issues. I value the therapeutic relationships I developed with clients and during my time at Trauma Recovery Services of Arizona, I have witnessed how in couples, family and individual counseling, I have able to make a strong relationship with clients through patience and taking small steps towards goals can make an extreme impact on the therapeutic experience. Some of my therapeutics approaches I use to assist in building a therapeutic relationship are.
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/Affirmative Therapy
This is the therapy I use mostly with couples, families, adolescents or individuals. Through analyzing negative behaviors and finding alternatives to change them into positive behaviors. During our sessions, we attempt to identify those behaviors and modify them into something more positive that won't cause harm to themselves or others. Working at TRSAZ. I’ve been able to have a space to work with groups of individuals that I did not have the chance to work with before. For example, I’ve been able to assist LGBTQ community working with adolescents, adults, couples and families. Using Affirmative Therapy, I have encouraged clients to discover their authenticity and embrace their gender and sexuality without guilt. Therapist and client create a positive space for self-acceptance and understanding of gender, sexuality, and identity expression.
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Solution Focused Brief Therapy/Structural Family Therapy
A therapeutic I enjoy working with individuals or couples is Solution Focused Brief Therapy. This approach helps clients identify positive behaviors and reinforces them as individuals or couples. Other methods include counseling techniques such as reflective, listening, and summarization. Interacting with the clients and allowing them to express their ideas and emotions during a session. This type of therapy encourages the clients or couples to think about the present and not stress so much about the future or past. An approach that I use when working with families and couples is Structural Family Therapy. This approach recognizes that many aspects of a family's structure including behavior patterns, routines, habits, and communication can contribute to dysfunction. Using family mapping to uncover and understand patterns of behavior and family interactions.
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Person Centered Therapy
Another type of therapy I use with the clients is being non-directive and refrain from asking directive questions or engaging in advice-giving and instead let the client direct where they would like the session to go.Therefore letting the client to share more increasing therapeutic rapport and awareness to vulnerability.
Applying Multi-Cultural Competencies
It’s important for me to be aware of my surroundings. For example, I am currently working on my PHD regarding the importance of how multicultural competencies play a role in therapy. Having self-awareness of culture is important to me because we don’t always realize how much of a role our own culture plays in the decisions, we make daily. I grew up in tight knit Mexican- American family where education and being present for each other in the family is an important value. In my community growing up, poverty and lack of care played a big role in determining the likelihood of individuals in my neighborhood of continuing or dropping out of school. Growing up in Southern Arizona, I noticed how some families who were not always present for each other would have a hard time with communication, avoidance leading to confrontations and lack of discussing feelings that leaves individuals without support. All these issues are incredibly important to know for me as the counselor to better grasp the thoughts and decisions a client takes. Culture controls so much of our beliefs and as a therapist Its important to keep an open mind be respectful towards others' beliefs and protect the welfare of client.
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Crecí en Sur-oeste de Arizona donde me gradue con bachilerato en la Universidad de Arizona y termine mi Mastria en Psicologia en Northern Arizona University. Hoy en dia sigo estudiando para recibir mi doctorado donde estoy trabajando en un tesis en relacion a la terapia multicultural. Vengo de una familia mexico-americana muy unida, donde la educación y estar presentes el uno para el otro en la familia es un valor importante. Los aprendidos en la familia me han ayudado llegar lejos en mi vida y ahora busco ayudar aquellos que necessitan el apoyo necesario para seguir adelante. En Trauma Recovery Services of Arizona, mi objetivo era construir una relación sólida con mis clientes. Mi objetivo inicial era aprender los comportamientos de las personas en el entorno de la práctica privada para comprender realmente sus problemas. Durante mi tiempo en Trauma Recovery Services of Arizona, he sido testigo de cómo en el asesoramiento de parejas, familiar e individual, he podido establecer una relación sólida con los clientes a través de la paciencia y los pequeños pasos que tienen un impacto extremo en la experiencia terapéutica. Algunos de mis enfoques terapéuticos son: CBT Esta es la terapia que utilizo principalmente con los clientes. A través del análisis de comportamientos negativos y la búsqueda de alternativas para convertirlos en comportamientos. Las sesiones de terapia afirmativa alientan a los clientes a descubrir su autenticidad y abrazar su género y sexualidad sin culpa. Terapia breve centrada en la solución Este tipo de terapia anima a los clientes o parejas a pensar en el presente y no estresarse tanto por el futuro o el pasado. Terapia Familiar Estructural Usar el mapeo familiar para descubrir y comprender patrones de comportamiento e interacciones familiares. Terapia centrada en la persona es lo que utilizo con los clientes es no ser directivo y abstenerme de hacer preguntas directivas o engaing en la prestación de consejos y, en cambio, dejo que el cliente dirija hacia dónde le gustaría que fuera la sesión.