sex addict therapist round rockMario Uribe, MS, LMFT Associate

SUPERVISED BY TAMMY FISHER, MA, LPC-S, LMFTS

About Mario

I work with a diverse array of men, women and couples, and always strive to respect the dignity and individuality of those I serve. I believe it important not to “impose” myself on clients, but instead to “walk with” people as they navigate their own journeys toward healing, growth and happiness.

Often, when beginning to work with new clients, I find they are exhausted—emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and otherwise, and I greatly respect the courage and commitment of those willing to place their trust in me.  My approach begins with non-judgmentally listening to you, and being fully present with you where you are, wherever that may be.

I believe all clients are worthy of unconditional positive regard, and I am committed to providing a safe and secure setting; as trust and security build, the step by step journey toward new possibilities and transformative change begins to take shape.  Healing begins.

Whether working with individual clients, couples or families, I place a high value on respecting the individuality of those I serve. I strive not to “impose” myself on clients, but instead “walk with” people on their own journeys toward wellness, success, or whatever they may seek.

Individual Counseling

Much of my clinical experience involves helping adult individual clients with mood and anxiety-related disturbances, AD/HD, relationship problems, life adjustments, problematic sexual behaviors and other compulsive behaviors.  Sometimes, new clients describe difficulties that seem “chronic” in nature, meaning they have been problematic for years perhaps, possibly worsening over time.  Other times, new clients are concerned with more immediate problems that can make daily functioning very difficult.  In either case, my approach is to listen to you, assess your needs, and collaborate with you on the best way forward.

Rather than relying upon any single methodology when working with individual clients, I adjust my approach depending on individual client and his/her needs; in so doing, I utilize an integrative approach that considers a variety of therapeutic possibilities ranging, for example, from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to humanistic and experiential therapies.  Whereas the nature and duration of counseling will greatly vary according to one’s own needs, I encourage open collaboration with clients in formulating goals (sometimes better defined as “needs” or “wants”) and empowering others on the path of their choosing.

Your journey is your own, but I find it important at times to “map waypoints” along the way, review progress together, and gather perspective.  Even if the destination is foggy at the start, the hope is that in time it will begin to come into focus—sometimes, it takes a while to know what we want before we know what we seek.  I believe effective counseling considers both the destination and the journey.  The journey is your own, but you are not alone.

Couples Counseling

Do you often feel like a “nag,” or that you “can’t get through” to your partner—are you perpetually trying “reach” him/her, but are angry, sad or frustrated at your inability to connect?  Or perhaps you find yourself instead distancing from your partner, avoiding conflict in order to avoid her/his anger and resentment, only to find yourself “walking on eggshells.”  You feel the pain of disconnection with the person you love, and you feel stuck; perhaps it even feels hopeless at times. If only you could re-discover the bond that somehow still exists beneath the rubble of fighting, avoiding and blaming.  Your heart yearns for this connection, but despite your efforts, you feel yourselves drifting apart.  You feel you are losing the one you love, and it hurts so much.

If this describes what is happening between you and your partner, you are certainly not alone.  It may be that within your relationship you are suffering from a long-standing, familiar pattern of conflict that has left you feeling isolated in your pain and distanced from the one you love.  It may well be that you do not even know or understand why or how this painful disconnect—this invisible monster that gets between you—is happening.  For others, it may more immediately relate to the intense pain of infidelity, compulsive, problematic sexual behaviors, or other addictions, mental illness, neurological factors, or other life-stressors.

My specialized training and experience in Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) provides an experiential approach in working with couples– one that builds strong, enduring emotional connections from their emotional core.  My work with EFT leads partners to experience their own, and each other’s emotions in new, heartfelt ways that result in loving interactions and re-attachment of ruptured or broken emotional bonds.

EFT is not a “band-aid approach” toward helping couples.  Rather than relying heavily upon popularized “tools” or “communication strategies,” EFT provides the platform for couples to experience transformative emotional experiences.  Healing within EFT is not limited to instruction or cognitive problem-solving (which many long-suffering couples have already tried) but instead fosters heartfelt experience aimed at restoring strong, lasting bonds between partners.

Special Needs Parents

As a husband and father of a child with special needs, I am intimately familiar with the kind of challenges faced by parents within such families.  I work with couples and single parents who struggle to cope with their children’s developmental challenges to include Autism, AD/HD, and other learning or behavior-related issues. I assess clients’ needs from a parent, couple and family perspective; rather than to exclusively focus therapy on the individual child with special needs, I assist parents in fortifying their couples (or other) relationship(s), honing parenting skills, and seeing to the well-being of the family as a whole.

In any family, but disproportionally in special needs families, couples may feel their bond begin to erode in the face of such family stressors.  A healthy, loving bond between parents undergirds the love and security of the entire family, but sadly that bond too often begins to collapse under the weight of such intense pressure.  Loving parents who sacrifice and devote so much of their energy and resources toward their child’s needs can end up “losing each other” in the process.

As a parent who has been through the IEP meetings, advocated for my child under difficult circumstances, endured public behavioral meltdowns, and in other ways navigated the special needs terrain, I understand how painful and difficult these unique challenges can be.  I greatly value working with both couples and individual parents facing such challenges.

ADHD And Couples Counseling

ADHD and relationship conflict impact about one-third of the couples that come see me for couples counseling, and yet the partner with ADHD has never been diagnosed. Running late, miscommunication, remembering things, acting impulsively, getting distracted are all par for the course with ADHD and this tends to frustrate partners. Research suggests that roughly 60 percent of couples living with ADHD are strained and stressed by the condition. If ADHD is not properly treated, understood, accepted, it can exacerbate relationship tensions.

ADHD-related challenges underlie many of the issues that bring couples to therapy—money, sex, chore-sharing, co-parenting. Many therapists can underestimate the role of neurobiology in dysfunctional behaviors and couple dynamics. I want couples to know that there is hope. ADHD and marital conflict in couples are both highly treatable.

 

I can help you slow down the issues and work to create effective ways to communicate. We also educate you on how to build neural capacity and grow to understand of each partner’s unique neurodiversity. I am familiar with the signs of ADHD and understand the toxic impact the disorder has on the relationship bond. I will educate you both about this disorder, how it negatively impacts the relationship, and how to manage ADHD that may cause the relationship conflict.

Notables and “Fun Facts” About Mario Uribe

I attained my BA degree from St. Mary’s University, Texas, and my MS in Clinical Counseling (Marriage and Family Therapy) from Cal State University, Long Beach (CA).  I have participated in advanced Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) training to include Externship as well as all levels of EFT core skills training.  I currently serve as Board of Directors Vice President for the Austin Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy.  I am a certified Positive Discipline Educator, and in addition to my clinically-oriented education, my past professional experience extends to corporate consultant and management work in the area of Employee Relations.

I grew up the eldest of 6 siblings in Orange County, California, but have gratefully become a
“naturalized” Texan. I’m into literature and creative writing, (mostly short stories) and enjoy hiking, backpacking, football, and all kinds of seventies and eighties music. My teenage son is a gifted pianist and composer, and among his many fans, none are greater than his mom and dad.

I attained my BA degree from St. Mary’s University, Texas, and my MS in Clinical Counseling (Marriage and Family Therapy) from Cal State University, Long Beach (CA), and am a certified Positive Discipline educator. In addition to my clinically-oriented education, my past professional experience extends to corporate consultant and management work in the area of Employee Relations.

SPECIALTIES

I work with individuals (adults and adolescents), couples and families. Areas of specialization include:

  • Autism/”Special Needs” (Parent Training/ Couples and Family therapy within special needs
  • families)
  • Mood and Anxiety disorders (Adults and Adolescents)
  • Relationship issues (Couples and Individual Adults)
  • Men’s Issues
  • Addiction/Compulsions (Adults and Adolescents)

Fees

Individual Session = $135
Couples Session  = $150