Explore the world of holistic psychology with MysticMag’s introduction to Dr. Joselyn Salaz. Known for customizing counseling to individual needs, she recently guided a client towards a positive mindset using diverse tools such as energy healing, astrology, and tarot readings.
Dr. Salaz prioritizes creating a safe space, incorporating sage cleansing, crystals, and aromatherapy to encourage exploration without judgment. Her adaptable approach blends traditional psychotherapy with various modalities tailored to each client’s unique circumstances.
In times of crisis, Dr. Salaz takes a proactive approach, foreseeing challenges and providing resources. Her dedication to immediate, ethical support underscores her role as a transformative figure in mental well-being.
How do you customize counseling approaches to align with the individual needs and goals of your clients?
I start by exploring in understanding the full scope of what is bringing the client to counseling. We begin by asking questions such as “What” in your life feels misaligned or incongruent with what you want, how will you know you’re on the right path, what will change/shift / be different if you were happier, how will you know when you met your goals?” These questions are a catalyst to better understanding what feelings, thoughts, or behaviors are behind what the client is hoping to achieve.
From there, I get a better sense of who the client is, how they think, how they process, and their interpretation, understanding, and meaning-making to ensure our approaches align with their strongest assets and strengths. For example, if a client is highly logical, and has black-and-white, and rigid thinking we would focus on providing structure and interventions that align with the more cognitive approach.
If however, the client is an empath and feels the energy and emotions of those around them, we would use interventions that are more focused on how the body feels, receives, and emotionally interprets their surroundings.
This may be a reiki, hypnotherapy, or other energy healing modality. If a client are orientated, like to be productive and value what they “do”, we would focus on creating habits, and daily routines that align with what they value and feel important to them.
Share a case where your counseling interventions led to a positive impact on a client’s mental health.
I’ll share a case I just closed two days ago as I’m still so happy, excited, and proud of her.
I had a young woman come in a few months ago to address feelings of inadequacy, severe intimacy issues, and overall feeling “lost “. This client was very familiar with therapy, as she had been in/ out of counseling for decades with minimal progress. Although this client couldn’t clearly identify “what she wanted”, and rather focused on what was “wrong” (typical of traditional counseling), we were able to shift her mindset, language, attention, and intention to focus on her longing to feel connected to her husband, find joy and meaning in her life and love herself.
From there forward, we only used positive psychology approaches focusing on “what worked”, her strengths and skills, and how to integrate more of her value system rather than what was “wrong”. I interpreted her Natal chart which showed a Chiron at age 8 (her significant wound), in the 3rd house (of early education, learning, peers, community, etc) of which she clearly identified a learning disability of which she was bullied and was a catalyst of her low self-worth, difficulty with vulnerability with others and sense of being different.
Her Natal chart also provided insight into her elemental constitution and strengths as we used this fire, passion, and excitement to motivate her toward action including new habits, a shift in mindset, and the integration of psychological coping skills to enhance her familiarity, comfort, and experience with self-love, positive and vulnerable interactions with husband.
Week to week, we built on these skills and insights, transferring and expanding to more difficult areas in her life as she began building confidence and experience in a more positive direction. We provided space and gave validation and attention to the lower vibrational negative thoughts and feelings but simply to understand them, meet their need, and provide it in a healthier more positive way.
During her time in treatment, I believe we did two energy sessions and one age regression to create a positive association, both neurologically, emotionally, and spiritually, with this younger part of herself that felt alone, judged and unworthy. I sent her meditations specific to supporting positive associations with feeling safe and loved in her body to practice out of session and afterward.
She did beautifully, though it was difficult, integrating, trusting, and believing these parts of her always existed she just lost conscious, and unconscious attachment to them. Therapy doesn’t have to be hard, frustrating, and painful to be effective. In fact, our subconscious and bodily systems prefer what is fluid and provides homeostasis. Finding that alignment is key.
What measures do you take to establish a safe and non-judgmental space for clients to explore their thoughts and emotions during sessions?
As a holistic psychologist and energy therapist, I believe it starts with my own personal energy field, the environment, and the space I provide in the office right down to the office location. Energetically, I sage or clear the room and myself between each client, I integrate crystals, healing lamps, aromatherapy, plants, grounding mats, and feng shui into the actual office including having an office space on the river (water is a beautiful conduit of energy).
Emotionally, I ask open-ended questions focusing on helping clients understand their thoughts and emotions rather than placing judgment on what is “right or wrong or good or bad”. I explain everything is neutral, not good or bad, it is the value we assign it through our experiences, perceptions, and interpretations. Once you understand how you assign meaning to experiences, thoughts, and emotions, it helps take the judgment away allowing us to focus on what aligns with what we value.
I believe everything is information to help us understand ourselves, how we interact with the world, and how those perceive us.
So often psychologists are perceived as stuffy, out-of-touch experts telling people how to live their lives but we are also people, called to healing others because of our own wounds seeking to connect and help others understand themselves. Simply shifting your mindset around your therapist’s role in the therapy process is significant in feeling comfortable along your healing journey
Which counseling techniques or modalities do you typically use, and how do you determine their appropriateness for each client?
I use a wide range of psychological, cognitive, emotional, somatic, energy, spiritual, and astrological techniques depending on the underlying ideology and nature of the presenting issue or misalignment. For example, if the client is struggling with an irrational fear, a deep-seated physiological response that doesn’t “make sense” or have a clear origin, hypnotherapy, energy healing, and somatic work would likely be explored, assuming the client has a strong connection to their body and this aligns with the constitution of their energy field.
If the client is moving through an adjustment, or stressor in their life and is trying to find clarity on how to move forward, traditional psychotherapy and cognitive interventions will likely be used to support making decisions that most strongly align with their value system. Sometimes clients simply lose sight of their strengths, self-worth, and overall meaning-making in their lives. In this case, I would consult their astrological chart looking at placements, aspects, and transits which might bring more information to explore and help the client find meaning.
I find astrology is a great place to springboard into the areas in which there may be a deep-seated trauma, explore career possibilities, understand their communication style, etc. I also utilized tarot cards, or O cards, to provide clarity around the energy highlighted at a certain time. I like using cards, pendulums, or other energetic tools when there are strong astrological influences.
Share insights into your approach to addressing crisis situations and providing immediate support within the scope of counseling practice.
As a psychologist, we can generally prevent, or mitigate, a potential crisis situation by anticipating possible difficult situations and/or creating plans for when a crisis arises. I am available to my clients when needed via phone and I provide phone numbers and resources to clients when going through an immediate crisis on my voicemail if I’m not available. I am flexible and accommodating when clients are in immediate need but try to provide resources beforehand as this is most effective.
