Beginning the Conversation

302 A Jefferson Street,Lafayette LA 70501

20 September, 2022

Description

Maria “Mica” Salazar Istre graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with her Master’s in Counselor Education. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Maria has a heart for helping people overcome the obstacles, traumas, and patterns that continue to hold them back from living life to the fullest. Through her work at a sexual assault center, she has gained clinical experience providing bilingual counseling services to Latinx victims. She has dedicated her time as a counselor in serving the highly marginalized and systemically oppressed in various clinical settings. As a Las Vegas native and child of immigrant parents, Maria is passionate about bridging the gap for ethnic and linguistic minorities in the Acadiana Area. It is this passion that led her to open Tree of Life Counseling and Consulting, the only multiculturally focused group counseling practice in the region. As a Mexican American (Chicana) and woman-of-color entrepreneur, she will be sharing about her journey as a Latina woman business owner. Furthermore, speaking to the unique barriers and needs that exist (e.g., linguistic, stigmas, cultural/ethnic, prejudices, xenophobia, refugees, immigrants, minority stress, racial trauma) for the Latinx population to seek mental health services.