Zulay Romero, MS, ATR, LCMHCA

“Color itself speaks its own language. You cannot live without it.”

~ Vincent Van Gogh

My Approach & Philosophy

You’ve come to a point where you feel stuck. You struggle too much and too often. You experience paralyzing overthinking and self-doubt and you wonder what your place is in this world and how you will arrive there. From a young age you knew you were different than all your peers. You felt as things came so naturally and easily for them but not for you. You were called too anxious, too slow, too hyper. You had trouble embracing your skin color/culture because there was no one outside of your home you could share it with. Traumatic events affected your ability to build trust and to maintain healthy relationships. You became fearful of everyone and everything and that stopped you from “finding you.” 

This has been my life experience. I am first generation Colombian-American. I am a child of immigrants. Ever since I was young, I felt that I didn’t fit in. My skin was different, the language I spoke with my loved ones was different, my school lunches stuck out like a sore thumb and, to top it all off, my teachers made it very clear that I was “too slow.” My self-esteem was… nonexistent. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I was diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, and depression, which helped me to understand why I struggled with certain tasks while my peers thrived.

But what has helped me survive all these years was art.

I wanted to help people find their voice, tell their stories, love themselves in the midst of this shit show we call life. I pursued a dual masters degree in art therapy and counseling. Art therapy is for individuals who find that words aren’t enough to express their pain. It’s for processing the good, the bad, and the ugly.

If you are reading this now, it means that you have made the brave decision to start (or resume) your healing journey. As a therapist, I take on a person-centered and existential approach. In therapy we acknowledge that there is good and bad in life, but that we are ultimately searching for techniques and coping mechanisms that help us focus on the positive and move through the negative toward our goals, toward our dreams. Additionally we will process and explore how to advocate for ourselves and identify our needs and wants (after all, that is how we practice self-love and self-care).

When not wearing my therapist hat, I am making art (either in my personal visual journal or large art that may be sold), reading a good book, bingeing Friends or New Girl for the millionth time, or spending time with my loved ones. I also have a cat, Luna, so it is a strong possibility you may randomly see cat ears (or cat butt) pop up while we are processing life together.

 

Specialties

I provide trauma-informed art therapy for:

• • Young adults (Ages 18+) who struggle with anxiety/depression and/or have gone through a traumatic experience
  • Multicultural concerns with being first generation Hispanic/American

I specialize in treating and processing:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Identity exploration
• Major life changes
• ADHD
• Assimilation concerns in adult children of immigrants