Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Rivera.
Hi Mary, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story began long before I ever thought about becoming a therapist. It began in childhood — in silence, confusion, and a deep desire to be understood. I was a very shy little girl; my mom will tell you that I barely spoke, I held everything inside because I didn’t know how to express the feelings I carried. At home, life wasn’t easy. I grew up surrounded by domestic violence and emotional and physical abuse. I learned to make excuses for the chaos, to minimize my pain, and to pretend everything was fine. I thought that was just how life was supposed to be. Deep down, I knew something wasn’t right, but I didn’t have the words or safety to say it. I carried that pain with me for years, and it began shaping how I saw myself and the world. When I was a teenager, things became even heavier. My mom struggled with depression, and my dad battled his own mental health and substance abuse issues . He had affairs that resulted in two other children — something I was told to keep a secret. I carried that secret for years, and it felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I was just a kid trying to hold my family together, while inside I was falling apart. Then, during my senior year of high school, my life took another devastating turn. I was sexually assaulted. What followed was bullying, shame, and a deep sense of isolation. I didn’t understand what had happened to me, and I didn’t know that it should have been reported. I blamed myself, and that pain grew into hopelessness. I tried to end my life twice. Both attempts were unsuccessful — and looking back, I know that was God’s grace. But those moments left scars that I carried for a long time. My mom sensed something was wrong, and that was the first time I started therapy. I didn’t realize it then, but that step would change the entire course of my life. Therapy gave me a place to feel safe, to release what I had been holding in for years, and to begin the process of healing. To this day, I still say that therapy is my best friend — it’s where I go when I need to realign, reflect, and breathe.
As I entered adulthood and became a mother myself, new challenges emerged. After each of my pregnancies, I struggled with postpartum depression. I tried to hold everything together, to smile for my kids, to be strong — but inside, I was exhausted and lonely. I felt unseen and unsupported. At times, I turned to alcohol as a way to cope with the pain and the expectations of motherhood. It wasn’t easy admitting that to myself, but it was part of my healing journey.
My life was also touched by suicide in deeply personal ways. My cousin died by suicide on Christmas Eve in Natalia, and I carried guilt for years after my mother told me I should have gone to look for him that night. Later, my uncle took his own life after being diagnosed with cancer. Those losses left a permanent mark on me. They made me realize just how powerful — and fragile — hope can be, and how easily it can slip away when someone feels unseen or unheard.
All of these experiences — the trauma, the loss, the pain — shaped me into the woman I am today. They gave me a deep understanding of what it means to struggle in silence. But they also lit a fire inside me — a calling to become the person I once needed. I didn’t want anyone else to feel as alone as I once did.
That’s how Lucid Counseling & Wellness Consultants was born. I wanted to create a space where people could come to find understanding, tools, and hope. Before I had a building or an office, I started small. I drove to rural communities across South Texas — Devine, La Coste, Dilley, Cotulla, and even Del Rio — meeting clients wherever they were. I sat in living rooms, schools, churchs’ and community centers. I didn’t have much, but I had faith and a mission.
Eventually, through prayer and perseverance, God opened doors. My husband found a house for sale on the main road in Devine, Texas. At first, I wasn’t convinced — it needed a lot of work. But after prayer and reflection, I knew it was meant to be. The man selling the property was a deacon at a local church — and that was my sign from God.
Today, that little blue house with a red door has become a place of hope and healing — Lucid Counseling & Wellness Consultants. It’s not just a building; it’s a safe haven for people to process, heal, and grow. Inside my office, you’ll find sloths everywhere. They’ve become my signature. I use them as a reminder to myself — and to my clients — to slow down. Life moves fast, and we often forget to pause and breathe. The sloths help us remember that it’s okay to take things one step at a time. The kids in our community even remember me as “the therapist with the sloths,” and that makes me smile. Because if they remember that, they’re also remembering to slow down and take care of themselves.
As Lucid Counseling grew, I began to see more and more clients in need. The demand was overwhelming, and I realized I couldn’t do it all alone. So, I prayed again for guidance — and once again, God answered. He sent me a licensed therapist who joined as a contractor. Together, we built her caseload, and eventually she opened her own LLC and continued working alongside me in our office. Later, another therapist — a social worker — joined our location each bringing unique skills that filled gaps in our community’s mental health care.
Another door opened when I began partnering with universities in San Antonio to train counseling interns. This has become one of the most rewarding parts of my journey. I get to teach and mentor future therapists using the same compassionate, hands-on approach that built my practice. I often call them my “mini-ME’s,” but what I truly mean is that I want them to leave prepared — confident, skilled, and filled with heart for this work.
Through all of this, I’ve learned that growth in counseling isn’t just about expanding — it’s about multiplying impact. By investing in others, I’m helping ensure that our rural communities will continue to have access to quality care for years to come.
When clients ask me, “How long will you be here?” my answer is always the same:
“Wherever God needs me, that’s where I’ll be. If He keeps me here, this is where I’ll stay until the day I retire.”
My semicolon ends with a period — because this is my new beginning. My story didn’t end with trauma; it transformed into purpose. I am living proof that healing is possible, that faith can turn pain into growth, and that even the heaviest stories can become testimonies of hope and resilience.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road — not by any means. My journey has been filled with both internal and external battles. Because of the emotional abuse I experienced as a child, I still struggle daily with that soft, haunting voice of my mother calling me “stupid.” Even after all these years, that word can echo in my mind, especially when I’m feeling tired or overwhelmed. It’s a voice that makes me question myself, that tells me to give up — but it’s also the voice that I’ve learned to challenge every single day. I’ve battled anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember. Over the years, I’ve been prescribed many different medications, and while they helped at times, I didn’t like the side effects. I had to find a balance between managing my mental health and staying present for my family, my clients, and my calling.
When I started my private practice, the challenges shifted from emotional to practical — and sometimes, both at once. I had to teach myself the business side of running a counseling buisness, which is something no one really prepares you for. As therapists, we’re trained to hold space for others, not necessarily to run a business. But when you own a private practice, you wear every hat imaginable.
I’m naturally organized and have always felt like everything needs to be perfect — that there’s no room for mistakes. That perfectionism part of myself made the process even harder. I scheduled appointments, answered referral calls, saw clients, wrote notes, reviewed and submitted insurance claims, cleaned my office, cut the grass outside, paid taxes, made sure everything stayed compliant with laws and regulations — all while trying to make time for my family.
Thankfully, my kids were teenagers when I started building this practice, because I honestly couldn’t have done it if they were younger. My husband and my kids used to joke, “Tell your boss you need a day off!” “Tell your boss you want to get off at 5pm not 7pm” Tell your boss you dont’ want to work on Sundays” not realizing I was the boss — and that taking a day off often wasn’t an option. I worked seven days a week — Sunday through Saturday — doing whatever it took to keep the doors open and the mission alive.
Over time, I learned that my constant need to stay busy wasn’t just about responsibility — it was also connected to my trauma. In therapy, we call these “parts” — my manager parts and firefighter parts. The manager part of me tries to control everything, to stay ahead of the chaos, to never let anything fall apart. The firefighter part jumps in to distract me from pain — keeping me so busy that I don’t have time to slow down and feel the sadness or exhaustion underneath.
It’s something I work on every day. I’ve learned to recognize when my busyness is really a way of coping. That awareness has been freeing — and it’s something I now teach my clients through my own therapeutic approach.
Running a business has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it’s also been one of the most rewarding. Every struggle — from managing my mental health to learning bookkeeping and balancing family life — has helped me grow stronger, more self-aware, and more compassionate toward others who are trying to rebuild themselves, too.
When I finally take a vacation, I really take one — because I know now how much I need those pauses. It hasn’t been easy, but every obstacle has shaped me into the person and therapist I am today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Lucid Counseling and Wellness Consultants?
I’m proud to say that Lucid Counseling & Wellness Consultants has become a trusted place of healing in our small community of Devine, Texas. I’m actually the only therapist who has remained in this area for more than seven years — and that consistency means a lot to me. Over the years, I’ve watched many providers come and who work for other agencies, but for me, staying has always been about commitment. This community has trusted me with their most vulnerable secret and stories, and I’ve made it my mission to be here for the long run. I’ve had clients drive from as far as Uvalde — especially after the tragic school shootings — and others who come from Houston, Austin, and even Dallas. When I ask them why they travel so far, their answer is always the same: “You show genuine care. You make us feel heard. Somehow, you understand.”
What’s beautiful is that most of my clients don’t even know my full story — but deep down, I often want to tell them, “I understand you because I was once there.” That lived experience gives me a deeper level of empathy and understanding, and it’s what guides how I connect with every person who walks through my doors.
At Lucid Counseling & Wellness, I specialize in trauma work, and I’m trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Parts Work, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). These are the “fancy” therapy terms we use to describe our tools — but really, they’re simply ways to help people make sense of their pain, calm their nervous system, and find peace again.
I also practice Neurofeedback and Biofeedback, which focus on the connection between the brain and the body, helping clients regulate their emotions and responses to stress. One of the things I’m most proud of is that I’m one of the few therapists in South Texas who uses an 19 Channel iSync Brain Mapping Helmet. This device helps analyze brainwave activity and identify biological markers connected to anxiety, trauma, depression, and other challenges. It gives us a deeper look into how the brain is functioning and allows for more personalized, data-driven treatment.
What truly sets me apart, though, isn’t just the training or technology — it’s the heart and ethics behind the work. One of the most important values to me is confidentiality. Working in a small town like Devine has taught me just how close-knit communities can be — people often describe it as “living in a fishbowl.” Everyone knows everyone, and news travels fast. From the very beginning, I made a vow to uphold confidentiality with the highest level of care and respect.
Of course, confidentiality is part of our professional ethics training, but for me, it’s more than that — it’s the foundation of trust. I believe this is one of the main reasons my practice has continued to grow and stand strong over the years. I’ve heard too many horror stories about other clinics breaking confidentiality, and how deeply that damaged clients’ trust and their willingness to seek help again. That will never be acceptable in my office. At Lucid Counseling & Wellness, confidentiality isn’t just a policy — it’s a promise.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that our office has become known as a safe and welcoming space. It’s not sterile or cold — it’s warm, calm, and full of personality. You’ll see sloths everywhere, reminding clients (and me) to slow down, breathe, and take things one step at a time. The kids especially love them, and I often hear, “You’re the therapist with the sloths!” That simple image has become part of our identity — and it carries an important message: healing doesn’t have to be rushed.
If there’s one message I want people to take away from my work, it’s this: don’t give up on therapy. Finding the right therapist is like shopping for a car — if the first one doesn’t fit, keep looking. I’ve met so many people who stopped therapy because their first experience didn’t work, not realizing they could switch therapists. Healing takes time, and sometimes it takes a few tries.
Lucid Counseling & Wellness Consultants is more than just a counseling center — it’s a space for hope, growth, and understanding. It’s a place where every person’s story matters, and every voice is treated with respect, privacy, and compassion. My goal is simple: to remind people that healing is possible, and that they never have to walk that journey alone.
https://www.lucidcounselingandwellness.com/
What are your plans for the future?
When I think about the future of Lucid Counseling & Wellness Consultants, I don’t just see a counseling office — I see a growing sanctuary of healing, learning, and connection. My heart has always been deeply rooted in this community, and my vision continues to grow with it. One of my greatest joys has been training and mentoring interns. Watching them develop their own therapeutic style, confidence, and compassion reminds me of why I started this journey in the first place. My plan is to continue offering specialized, hands-on training for graduate interns — giving them real-world experience, not just textbook learning. I want to help shape the next generation of therapists to be genuine, trauma-informed, and heart-centered professionals who can truly meet people where they are.
Looking ahead, I would love to expand my practice — not just in size, but in what we can offer to the community. My dream is to add a few more offices and extend the landscape so that clients can also experience outdoor therapy. There’s something incredibly grounding about being in nature, and I want to create spaces where people can sit outside, breathe, and process life in the fresh air and sunlight.
I’ve been praying about purchasing the vacant property right next door. It’s a vacant lot and I can’t help but feel like it’s meant to be part of the next chapter for Lucid Counseling. My vision is to add and transform this space into a wellness hub — a place where people can find healing in all forms. I would love to host support groups, mothers’ circles, adolescent groups, painting workshops, art therapy, women’s Bible study groups, divorce recovery groups, and couples workshops.
To me, healing isn’t just about one-on-one sessions — it’s about creating a sense of community, where people can come together, share, and grow alongside others who understand what they’re going through. I want to build a space where counseling meets creativity, spirituality, and connection.
As for opening another practice — that’s not where my heart is right now, I’ve tried but somehow God brought me back to Devine. Even though I drive 45 minutes to an hour each way, my heart is here. I truly believe God placed me in this community for a reason, and unless He sends me elsewhere, this is where I’ll stay.
My goal isn’t just to grow a business — it’s to grow impact. I want Lucid Counseling & Wellness to continue being a light in this community, a place where people can come to find clarity, comfort, and faith in their own ability to heal. Whatever doors open next, I know I’ll continue to walk through them with prayer, purpose, and gratitude.
When I look back on my journey — the pain, the lessons, the long nights, and the answered prayers — I see how every single step led me right where I’m supposed to be. What once felt like brokenness has become the foundation of my purpose. I didn’t just build a business; I built a place of hope and healing — for others and for myself.
Lucid Counseling & Wellness Consultants is more than a name. It represents LUCID clarity, faith, and courage. It’s the promise that no matter how dark things feel, light and understanding are possible. Every client who walks through my door carries a story, and I consider it a sacred privilege to walk beside them as they rediscover their strength and peace.
My hope is that when people think of me — or even just pass by my office — they remember more than the sign out front. Maybe they remember the sloths hanging around the walls, the painted rocks of encouragement and the gentle reminder they carry: slow down. Healing takes time, and it’s okay to take it one day, one moment, one breath at a time.
I often say, “My semicolon ends with a period.” To me, that means my story didn’t end in pain — it became a new beginning. God turned my struggles into purpose, my silence into a voice, and my wounds into wisdom I can now share with others.
If there’s one message I want people to take away from my story, it’s this: Don’t give up — not on therapy, not on faith, not on yourself. Healing is hard, but it’s worth it. You can rebuild, you can find peace, and you can create a life that feels safe again. “It took me almost 50 years to finally heal from my past and i don’t want you to wait that long”
And as for me — I’ll keep doing the work, one client, one intern, one prayer at a time. Whether I’m in my office, outside under the trees, or walking across that vacant land that may someday become part of Lucid’s future — I’ll keep showing up where God needs me most. Because that’s where the real healing happens — in the stillness, in the faith, and in the slowing down.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lucidcounselingandwellness.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucidcounseling
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AiK9qg1GS/
