Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Mechure.
Hi Maria, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a first-generation Filipino American, born in the Philippines and raised in Singapore and Seattle, WA. I struggled to find a passion throughout my life, but I knew it had to involve helping others. In most Asian-American families, emotions are not something that is discussed. But my family was different, my mom was different. She taught me to focus on people’s emotions and to take care of others in any way possible. Whether with food or a listening ear, she taught me to be present and serve others as she always was.
I studied sociology at the University of Washington and was preparing to enter post-bac studies in nursing. And while working at the Emergency Department (ED) at Children’s Hospital in Seattle, I learned that nursing was not a profession for me. I marveled at the strength of nurses, but being around that much blood was not for me. I am a little squeamish. One area in the ED that did grab my attention was the psychiatric room and the social workers who would help children/adolescents and their families get through a different kind of medical crisis, a psychological one. From there, my thirst for knowledge in the field of psychology started.
I entered graduate school at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles for a master’s in counseling psychology, with an emphasis on marriage in family therapy. After my first training site, I was hooked. I knew that this is what I wanted to do and this is where I wanted to be. Nearing the end of the master’s program, it didn’t seem that the thirst for knowledge was fully quenched, so I applied for a doctoral degree. Without a break, I went on to complete a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Fuller Graduate School of Psychology.
I have trained with almost the entire lifespan and seen clients from six years old to nearly 100 years old. And everyone has a different story and each of their stories deserve to be heard, understood, and validated. And I am honored to be a listening ear for the marginalized communities at Martin Luther King Community Hospital. I also have a small private practice focusing on the healing of Asian-American young adults to work through underlying intergenerational traumas and discover their ethnic identities. As an adjunct educator at both Mount Saint Mary’s University and at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, yes I am back at both my alma mater, I aim to nurture next-generation psychologists to be the best therapist they can be and to continue the necessary work of upholding the mental health of our society.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh, not at all. The road to getting here was rough, rocky, and not without many lessons. And I would not change it for the world. It was hard moving multiple states away to start graduate school without my stable support system. I had to learn to recreate that support in this new place. That was the hardest, but once that solid ground was placed, there was nothing I couldn’t take on. That support was made up of my cousins/family, my now husband, and new friends I am so thankful to have found. Of course, my family helped from afar in any way they could.
Graduate school was hard, but what they don’t tell you is how hard it is to be a therapist. Classes on theories cannot share this and we have to learn it through our countless hours of training. Passion for psychology is sometimes not enough, as you are listening to the most terrible and wonderful things that have happened in a client’s life. One thing that has ultimately helped along the way has been to focus on the humanity of the other person in the room. I think to myself, when in doubt just be human and accompany them as they weather the storm.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I wear many hats throughout the day, the one thing in common is that I strive to be at the service of others. Whether it is my patients, students, supervisees, or colleagues. I am here for all.
I am a clinical psychologist at Martin Luther King Community Hospital working with patients who reside in the South LA area. I have worked in community mental health clinics and hospitals, focusing on the improvement of behavioral health management for patients with chronic medical illnesses and co-occurring mental health disorders.
I also have a private practice that focuses on the care of clients with intergenerational trauma/identity/cultural issues. As an anxiety and trauma specialist, I strive to work with the whole person in order to connect past traumas to current stressors and work towards restoring peace in one’s life. I believe that healing is possible and it is also unique to the individual. I can help in unpacking that personal definition of clarity, peace, and wholeness. I am passionate about individualizing evidence-based mental health care as I believe that each human is unique.
What matters most to you? Why?
Humanizing mental health is of the utmost importance to me. Mental health has a stigma, it is used as a weapon against others, and it is often misunderstood. I hope to change that in our current society. I believe that mental health is as important as physical health. And that it is worth humanizing the fact that everyone has emotions and these emotions are valid and deserve to be understood.
Pricing:
- $200 Individual Therapy
- $200 Couple’s Therapy
Contact Info:
- Website: www.drmariamechure.com
- Other: https://www.mlkch.org/home
Image Credits
Kelly Robyn Studio
