Meet Amanda Baquero | Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Baquero and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
When I chose psychology as my field of study, I was pivoting from pre-med and my life long dream to be a doctor. Growing up, I always knew that I wanted to help people and I believed practicing medicine would help me fulfill that goal. When I discovered psychology and mental health services as a different path, I was immediately energized with new a purpose and dream.

Our mental health has a tremendous impact on our lives. From the individual level, affecting our daily lives, to the systemic level, affecting our families, communities, and cultures. I believe that we all influence each other with our actions and beliefs, whether we are aware of it or not. I have been providing therapy since 2017 and opened my practice Rise and Thrive Counseling in 2020.

When I am in the therapy room with my clients, I can clearly see the impact counseling has on their day- to-day. My clients learn new ways to deal with their daily challenges and grow their understanding of themselves and the world around them.

More often than not, these changes begin to affect the people in their lives. Their conversations and relationships with friends; Their successes at work and school with their colleagues and peers; Their lives at home with their family and loved ones. When I think about how my business helps our community, I think about this domino effect. It starts with one person taking a brave step to reach out and seek help. From there, I see the lasting changes build out around them.
I am truly grateful to have a business that I know is helping my community. I believe in the work that I do and appreciate every person who allows me the privilege to make an impact on their lives. With one small improvement in mental health, we can build stronger, healthier communities.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
After graduating with my master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, I began my career full of excitement and hope, but also anxiety and fear. During this time, I worked at community mental health organizations providing no-cost therapy to teens, adults and families. I knew that the clients I worked with would benefit from the help I could provide, but I constantly doubted my skills in the beginning. I don’t take my work lightly, knowing the impact that I can have on every person I get the opportunity to work with. However, along the way I have learned to give myself grace and compassion through every challenge, set-back, and failure. Nurturing this mindset has allowed me to learn from my mistakes and improve my skills, instead of getting down on myself and giving up.

Now, as I grow my business and my career, I take this mindset with me as I continue to learn and push myself forward. I strive to be the best that I can be while embracing where I’ve been. I look forward to the rest of my journey as a therapist and I hope to impart this mindset on every individual that I work
with.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I feel so lucky to live in a city like Miami. I feel like we have something for everybody to enjoy. Do you enjoy nature? I would take you paddle boarding with the manatees in Key Biscayne, kayaking out of Oleta River State Park and walking around Fairchild Tropical Gardens. If art is more your scene we’d have the PAMM, the Rubell Museum, the ICA, and just simply strolling around Wynwood and the Design District. At night, we can catch some local musicians play Lagniappe, the Anderson, or Bar Nancy. If you’re a foodie like me, you might get overwhelmed with the amount of quality restaurants and cuisines in Miami.

My current favorite dishes? The Khao Soi at Lung Yai Thai Tapas, the Coffee Paolo at Mister O1, the steak burrito at Uptown 66, and the cremolada at Itamae.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to the non-profit community mental health organizations that I worked with during my career. The staff at these organizations are the silent heroes who deserve recognition for providing support and access to care to those in our community that need it most. A major shoutout goes out to Survivors’ Pathway, The Institute for Child and Family Health, and Westcare.

Not only do these organizations do critical work for our community, but they also provided me with opportunities to learn, grow and connect as I began my career as a therapist.

Website: www.risethrivecounseling.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/risethrivecounseling

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/amandabaquero

Facebook: www.facebook.com/amandabaquerolmft