Today we’d like to introduce you to Annette Munoz.
Hi Annette, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ll begin my story with, I would not be where I am today without the love and support of my family; most notably my husband and children, my husband and I are originally from the West Texas area. We moved here in 2010 when my husband was accepted into the San Antonio Fire Department.
My original plans were to attend law school at St. Mary’s University. While preparing to re-apply to law school I was accepted into UTSA’s graduate program for Counseling. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Texas Permian Basin and figured this would be my plan B until I got into law school; however, the good Lord had other plans for me.
During my first semester of graduate school, I knew I had been guided to be exactly where I was supposed to be. I did exceptionally well in graduate school and loved every bit of it. Since the first semester of graduate school, my goal was to open a private practice after becoming fully licensed.
Upon graduation, I applied to become a Licensed Professional Intern (Associate) under the supervision of Dr. Michael Shufelt Moyer. I completed the hours necessary and became a Licensed Professional Counselor in 2018. With the help of my loving and supportive husband, I was able to open my practice in November of 2018.
I got to where I am today by faith, determination, and perseverance.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not always been smooth. There have been some struggles and challenges along the way. During my first interview after graduating from UTSA with my master’s degree, I began having pain in my left eye. The pain worsened and I decided to go to the med clinic. I left the med clinic and was told I had a scratch on my cornea.
That evening I laid down to rest due to the severe pain and upon waking a couple of hours later I had lost all vision in my left eye. I went to the emergency room where I was treated for a severe eye infection. The treatment was rigorous and took months to recover. The infection cleared and some of my vision returned; however, I was left with a scar on my cornea that obstructed my view.
I received a corneal transplant to improve my vision. The experience with my eye infection/ transplant took a couple of years before I was healthy enough to return back to my old self and continue with my goals of becoming a licensed clinician and opening my private practice. This definitely set me back some time but I was determined and giving up on my dream was not an option.
I am also a first-generation college graduate and a first-generation business owner so I put a lot of pressure on myself to be successful for the next generation, my children. Other struggles along the way were the waiting process with getting credentialed with insurance companies before beginning to counsel and the time it takes to build a steady clientele.
In addition, during the pandemic, I had to make adjustments to my practice and begin offering Telehealth services due to the changing climate of COVID-related circumstances. This was challenging at times due to various reasons.
However, it was important as a professional and business owner to evolve and stay current with the times and demands.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Cherry Blossom Counseling Center was established in 2018 with the goal of helping others with their mental health and overall wellness. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I help individuals with their mental health needs. I provide psychoeducation to assist clients with understanding their mental health needs and/or diagnosis.
This includes understanding and assistance with symptom management, identifying underlying emotions and behaviors associated, identifying unhealthy thinking patterns (such as overthinking and irrational thoughts), and processing any past traumas.
I utilize two main types of therapeutic models in my practice, client-centered and cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. I will often use both models of therapy; however, some clients do better using one model. This is determined on a case-by-case basis. The reason I use two types of therapy in my practice is that I feel these two therapies work well together and I have seen success with clients.
One thing I am most proud of is the ability to build strong therapeutic alliances with my clients. I love what I do and connect really well with others. I work hard to make clients as comfortable as possible due to the nature of the vulnerability of the counseling process.
I do this with empathy, compassion, and unconditional positive regard for the client. I’ve had many referrals from clients to their family members, friends, and co-workers. What sets me apart from others, I would have to say is my diverse training with various populations, including but not limited to my past experience working at one of the most trusted behavioral health centers in San Antonio, Laurel Ridge Treatment Center.
My diverse training has helped me with the knowledge necessary to recognize certain alarming behaviors and potential crisis situations. At this time I am the only clinician on staff; however, the long-term goal for Cherry Blossom Counseling Center is to grow into a facility with multiple clinicians on staff.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I have two favorite childhood memories. One of my favorite memories is going on vacations with my family to Lake Colorado City State Park. We would often travel with extended family and family friends. There were a lot of adults and even more children.
This was frequent and I have many beautiful memories from those times. The one I appreciate the most is when my (late) father woke me in the early morning to go fishing with the men and boys. When I was around 10-11yrs I was the only girl in my family that could hang with the boys.
We hiked in the dark early morning hours and found a great fishing spot. I vividly remember him searching for worms in the small styrofoam container full of dirt with his manly, dirty hands and nails. He grabbed a worm and handed me the container to grab my worm. I was up for the challenge and did not show any sign of squeamishness.
My dad then grabbed our rods, talked me through and demonstrated how to hook a worm. I was ecstatic! I loved every bit of it. I never caught a fish when I was younger but the value of his teachings was far greater than I would ever imagine. My other favorite memory is prepping our Thanksgiving dinner the night before with my (late) mother and my 3 sisters.
This tradition began at a very young age and continued into adulthood. I can easily close my eyes and remember the loudness and laughter we had every year the night before Thanksgiving. We would stay up into the early morning hours, our only cares in the world were to correctly cut the vegetables and don’t burn the cornbread for the stuffing or the pumpkin pies; otherwise, we’d be the running joke for the years to come.
I remember the sweet smells and the darn pumpkin pie mixture that would always overflow the pie shells, it never failed. I also remember my mother and how beautiful she was at her craft. I can still see her and hear her working that kitchen like an intricate magical dance with the gentlest of flows.
This was one example of the many life skills my beautiful mother taught me that I am forever grateful to have.
Pricing:
- Individual 60min (Private Pay) $125
- Individual 45min (Private Pay) $100
- Family 60min (Private Pay) $200
- Couples/Marriage 60min (Private Pay) $200
- Most Insurances Accepted- Rates Vary based upon insurance plan
