About Maria
Where My Journey Began
Twenty years ago, a life-changing event shattered a part of my life and left me feeling vulnerable, unworthy and alone. Although I had my family, who I dearly love, my heart felt broken. My children's lives were my priority with their well-being, education, social activities and their own feelings of loss. Moreover, my university studies occupied another significant part of my life that lead me to rediscover myself and most importantly, I learned how to heal.
In my Family Systems course at California State University Long Beach (CSULB), I practiced self-awareness exercises that helped me relax and focus on being compassionate to myself and others. I began to love my inner self again and to accept me .
My professor Sharon Loeschen, Licensed Clinical Social Worker at CSULB, trained closely with Virginia Satir, a world renowned therapist who approached clients through authentic and honest communication. Sharon taught me practical skills using the Satir coaching techniques during a time in my life when I needed to step outside of my familiar thinking, learn to be aware, and guide myself to make the decisions that lead me to live the life I desired.
The Satir Coaching Tools
The Virginia Satir Coaching and Mentoring Specialist program has taught participants to self explore the inner-self and discover deeper about themselves while providing support and guidance to the participant in a step-by-step strategic plan.
Using Virginia Satir’s coaching tools, Sharon guided me to enriched my personal and career life by my safely identifying feelings, sharing with others, validating our uniqueness and differences, and further discovering the Self’s hidden treasures, embracing my insecurities, being nurturing to myself, and healing my heart that paved the road for me to become certified in the Satir Coaching and Mentoring Specialist program.
My Commitment to You
My goal is to coach you to enrich your life by learning the tools and methodologies that Satir used to enhance your communication techniques, be aware of your genuine self, foster change, and develop support systems for you, the participant, to refresh a relationship with yourself and with others.
By allowing me to be your coach, my purpose is to teach and mentor you safely, respectfully and encourage you to grow within yourself and enhance your relationships with others. We all deserve to learn about ourselves and understand how we cope, how we want to be, and choose to allow ourselves to live a joyful, peaceful and fulfilling life.
Why I Coach and Mentor
My previous experiences and healing process are the reason why I coach. I have now dedicated my life to coaching and mentoring others because I want to share the various skills that helped me identify my feelings, reactions, beliefs, and choices to change by better understanding my self and promoting compassion for others.
My experience as community college counselor, professor, Puente program and mentorship coordinator, at Orange Coast College is another reason why I coach. I applied the teachings of Virginia Satir by creating caring and meaningful professional interactions during my former 18 year career. Moreover, the Puente Project State wide Office at the University of California, Berkeley provided on-going trainings to counselors to enhance students’ learnings and emphasize overall human connections similar to the teachings of Virginia Satir.
Professional Development
“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be,
it’s the way it is.
The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.”
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The Viginia Satir Global Network (VGSN) membership provides on-going monthly presentations of resources, education, career support, through online meetings with Satir coaches, trainers, professionals, and students from around the world.
Practicing Satir’s teachings enhances my Satir coaching and mentoring abilities to create connections and form deeper understanding of the diverse cultures with people around the world to encourage peace and justice.
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Every month, Satir Coaches, Trainers, and Master Trainers from the United States and around the world unite through online meetings to demonstrate real live coaching with a volunteer to learn different styles and approaches by using Satir tools, strategies, and most importantly the use of Self to genuinely coach. These meetings create a connection with people of diverse background and honors the teachings of each Satir coach. Additionally, the newly certified Satir Coaching and Mentoring Specialists are introduced, recognized and honored with the presentation of their certificate.
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In ongoing online weekly meetings, Sharon Loeschen, my Satir coach and mentor, models unconditional support and guidance for my continuous development as Satir Coach and Mentor by planting seeds of nourishment and growth for myself and for others to embrace change, peace and goodwill. Sharon’s validation and authenticity supports my vision and goals by encouraging me to flourish as a Satir Coach and Mentor in the English and Spanish speaking community.
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As facilitator of a 90-minute bilingual Spanish / English presentation on the six steps of Enriching Your Relationship with Yourself and Others, based on the teachings of Virginia Satir book written by Sharon Loeschen, L.C.S.W., I presented a workshop with a group of participants practicing a meditation (centering exercise), connecting with others in the group, validation, awareness, acceptance, change, reinforcement and support using Satir’s strategies. The group members developed trust, engaged with one another and prepared for the process of change, a transformative process.
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Panel Participant: “Diversity”
As a participant of a panel promoting cultural competence, my background living in the United States and growing up in a majority African American community, living in a Spanish-speaking home with my parents and grandmother, and attending school in Mexico City for three years at the age of 16, I expressed the diversity in my upbringing. Fortunately, my six siblings and I, immersed in English at school, and we learned to read and write at home with my grandmother.. My enriching environment prepared me well to embrace the diversity in my own family with grandchildren born in the United States and having parents, grandparents and great grandparents of Poland, México, Iran, Philippines, China, and Spain that enhance our diversity.
Sharing our own experiences with the panel members, created a connection through our similarities and differences as we learned about each others’ culture and experiences.
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I participated in a training as a member in large group, in dyads, and triads to reinforce and practice the Satir Growth Model, the Seed Model, and therapeutic approaches that developed a connection with the facilitators and the group members as we explored within ourselves and with one another our own feelings, reactions, behaviors, beliefs and perceptions in a safe and nurturing setting with appreciative listening and awareness of our inner resources such as our compassion, empathy, honesty, humor, wisdom, creativity, and genuineness.
As we learned from one another and the facilitators led us to self-exploration using the Satir Growth Model, our relationships developed closer with respect and understanding and increased self-esteem.
Degrees & Certifications
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Since 2002, I have participated in monthly workshops to further enhance my coaching and mentoring abilities. The workshops I’ve participated in are based on Virginia Satir’s teachings and approach to develop relationships with one’s self, individuals in their life, and their family members.
The Satir tools, strategies, and skills I learned became part of my role as a mother, professor, counselor, mentor, and coach. I’ve learned to navigate challenges and successes with compassion, courage, and risk-taking of new ideas that lead to making the changes I desire for a fulfilling life.
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In 2021, I was trained and mentored as a certified Satir Coaching and Mentoring Program Specialist. I have applied my coaching knowledge with a diverse group of individuals in both English and Spanish languages.
I have coached professionals that reside in United States, Mexico, Italy, and Spain. My goal as a Satir Coach and Mentor is to help others gain in-depth awareness for hope and change in times of uncertainty.
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I earned my degree to become an 18-year college professor, counselor, and program coordinator. Earlier in my career, I completed 500+ hours of Marriage & Family Therapy services at the following locations:
Miller’s Children Abuse Center, Long Beach
YWCA Adolescent Counseling Services, Santa Ana
Adult counseling at a private Medical Center, Santa Ana.
I have previously completed an internship at Santiago Canyon College in Extended Opportunity Program & Services and an internship at Orange Coast College in Academic and Personal Counseling. My decades-long career in counseling and teaching strengthened my ability to help others on their journey of self-growth and development of personal skills.
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My undergraduate Human Services education laid the groundwork to my eventual career in coaching and mentoring others. During my undergraduate studies, I was nominated as a group leader in my Character and Conflict course under the supervision of my professor. I participated in a training retreat with fellow student leaders to enhance our leadership capabilities. For two years, I led student groups to help them gain self-awareness, build self-confidence, and enhance their self-esteem skills.
During this time, I began my journey in self-care through my personal therapy experiences and the Satir life skills I had practiced. This was a time of immense personal growth in spite of the fear and emotional challenges I faced in my own life.
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The Puente Community College program provides academic, counseling, and mentoring support for students to develop skills necessary for success in both academic and career goals while in college. Writing, communication, knowing myself, learning about others, and building relationships were at the forefront of the workshops that I attended at the Puente Summer Institute (PSI) - UC Berkeley.
I was part of the Puente Leadership team, and I effectively guided and mentored thousands of students during my decades long career. I continuously learned about students’ success by reviewing college data, identifying student needs, asking questions, being genuine, and listening / communicating with empathy to effectively teach and mentor the students in the Puente program.
For 15+ years, I planned and participated in faculty and student attended Puente conferences and trainings at UC Berkeley. Our focus was on professional and self development and self-care. The conferences reinforced my learnings of Virginia Satir’s methodologies that I implemented in my academic and personal success courses and in counseling all students. The skills of self-growth, knowledge and relationship building that I nurtured are reflected in my Satir Coaching and Mentoring program.
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The CLEEO Project, Counseling Latin@s for Equity & Engagement, has a commitment to promote Latinos(as) access and success in higher education in an equitable and culturally supportive environment. CLEEO provides outreach to students and develops events hosting distinguished guest speakers such as Dolores Huerta, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award Recipient.
Through CLEEO, my cultural competence and knowledge expanded through my participation in a seminar titled "Covid 19 & Latinos: Opportunities to Strengthen Student Leadership for Community Engagement," presented by Dr. David E. Hayes-Bautista, Professor of UCLA, School of Medicine. I learned to further use my own voice, engage in learning, and empower others to find their own voices through transformative experiences by exploring and knowing who “I am.” As a springboard from any barriers that arise, the CLEEO presentations and the Virginia Satir teachings have enhanced my life through courageously empowering me to coach and teach tools and strategies of inner self exploration and creating connections with others.
What People Are Saying
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VICKY G.
“Receiving Maria’s coaching with her 6-week Satir Coaching Program helped me overcome my sense of helplessness on how to deal with issues from my past.”
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SAMUEL M.
“Maria has been such a caring and supportive coach. She helped me discover more about myself and how to maintain healthy relationships with others.”
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ROBERTO V.
“Maria coached me on the various tools to help strengthen my relationships with my friends and co-workers. Now I’m more aware of who I am and how I want to live my life.”
Essential Honoring Values
Values that Virginia Satir taught as being instrumental in honoring each of these include:
Being connected with your Spirit/Self and relating from that energy in order to see, hear and understand others, as well as yourself.
Valuing yourself and others as being worthy of love.
Having an awareness of your behavior, beliefs, expectations and feelings in order to be able to choose to respond in ways that honor yourself, the other and the context.
Opening to greater understanding and acceptance of yourself and others.
Viewing yourself and others as equals in personhood, no matter what differences there are in age, roles, etc., such as child and parent, wife and husband, student and teacher, patient and doctor, employee and supervisor.
Celebrating your uniqueness, and that of all others, and at the same time honoring your sameness with all others in terms of common human feelings.
Believing that change is possible.
Credit: The Viginia Satir Global Network https://satirglobal.org/About-Satir-Global
