Empowering your path to wellness. | Serving the ENTIRE state of West Virginia
empowering your path to wellness.
Beatriz Cedeno Franco
Grounding Ninja, Relationship Healer, Journey Guide, Emotional Supporter, Joy Builder,
Paradigm Shifter
Areas of FOCUS.
Trauma, Relationships, Women’s Issues, Anxiety and Self-Esteem.
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Approach.
Client Centered, Collaborative with emphasis placed on the therapeutic relationship, Eclectic & Individualized.
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If you’re feeling overwhelmed and are in need of support, you’ve come to the right place. I believe in the importance of offering a non-judgmental, safe space for clients to embark on their journeys of self-discovery. As such, I promise to remain open minded, supportive, and offer feedback as needed. My clients dictate the content addressed in their sessions, I follow their lead.
During the therapy process, I assist clients with the discovery of their strengths, recognizing & building support systems, developing healthy lifestyles to set the foundation for success, and move forward to achieve their goals.
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My theoretical orientation is diverse. I am Rogerian at heart and use components of modalities such as CBT, and experiential models like IFS and Gestalt.
You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.
C.S. Lewis
Beatriz Franco
Appalachian Life Enrichment Counseling Center
about.
Fiancé, mother of two boys and a girl, foodie, theater lover, dancer, singer, traveler.
I am an adoptive daughter of the United States who is originally from Caracas, Venezuela (born and raised). I noticed early on as an undergrad majoring in biology that my attention often shifted from my petri dish to those around me. I found myself often wondering what was on my peers’ minds, or why their mood seemed different from that of the day before. I quickly realized that I was significantly more intrigued by human behavior and wanted to learn more about it. So, I changed majors and pursued this interest.
I worked as an applied behavior analysis (ABA) paraprofessional for 15 years. Helping individuals with autism spectrum disorder gave me great satisfaction. More than a decade of work in this field allowed me to understand that families of children with disabilities face many challenges. Although I was contributing to their wellbeing through ABA therapy with the child and parent training in one way, I wanted to do more. I just did not know exactly how to go about it. That answer would come after several years of service in the church as a music minister. I witnessed much pain from members who carried their struggles, their hurt, their crosses in their marriages and/or other areas of their lives. It was then when my calling became clear. So, I decided to pursue my vocation to become a counselor and walk with others as they journey life.
During the completion of my master's program, I have received additional training in trauma through the Center for Trauma and Resiliency Studies (CTRS) and have deployed to Kenya, Africa to impart education on compassion fatigue, marital conflict, and other topics to individuals in law enforcement, the medical field, schools, and religious communities. This experience only affirmed and ignited my passion for empowering others and facilitating their flourishing.
Professional Background.
Beatriz is a Certified Traumatologist (CT). She is a member of the American Mental Health Counseling Associates (AMHCA), and Green Cross Academy of Traumatology (GCAT). Beatriz completed her undergraduate degree through Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. She is obtaining a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling through Divine Mercy University in Sterling, Virginia. Complete trainings include Treating Sexual Trauma, Assessment and Treatment of PTSD, Disaster Trauma, Grief and Loss, Child and Adolescent Trauma, Treating Traumatized Families, Psychological First Aid, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for anxiety and phobia, Healing Emotional/Affective Responses to Trauma (H.E.A.R.T.) model. Her work includes an internship through an immersion experience in Kinangop, Kenya, where issues such as sexual abuse, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, human trafficking, extreme poverty, and loss of loved ones were confronted.