About Hector A. Pereles

My Story

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) & Bilingual EMDR Certified Therapist

My name is Hector A. Pereles, born and raised in Puerto Rico and fully bilingual in English and Spanish (hablo español). I am an engineer turned professional counselor. Wait!: Engineer turned counselor? Is this correct? Yes, you read correctly. It is sort of a rare breed or unusual career change, isn’t it? But yes: That’s me!

You may be asking yourself why the career change. Well, a time ago I underwent a challenging period in my life which prompted me to reflect upon and take inventory of my career satisfaction; then I realized that engineering no longer was a fulfilling career choice.

Throughout my adulthood, I have been an avid believer and advocate of self-growth and self-development. During the previously mentioned challenging time in my life, I relied on self-help books as well as counseling. Yes, I know how it feels to be a patient because I have been one! So, after helping myself through self-help books and counseling, I simply decided to go pro and help others, or “take my show on the road.”

Now, allow me to make mention of some of my therapy approaches. Warning: The following might seem like psychobabble (or a foreign language), nonetheless it may be worth mentioning. My main approaches to therapy are Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR therapy), Internal Family Systems (IFS), IFS-Informed EMDR, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and somatic-, attachment-, and mindfulness-based interventions. My professional knowledge, skills set, and experience is such that, according to your treatment goal(s), I am able to combine these approaches so as to increase your treatment effectiveness and bring you deeper, longer-lasting healing than just talking about anything week after week which may not be as effective.

Beyond my office, when I am not practicing therapy, I enjoy such hobbies as exercising, watching and practicing sports (especially volleyball and tennis), movie watching (I tend to be a “movie buff”), collecting and listening to music, computer work, traveling, dancing, outdoor activities (parks and recreation), and amusement and water parks. One little known fact about me, which some people find hard to guess due to my often times nerdy look, is that I used to be a competitive swimmer and volleyball player. My dream residence would have a backyard with a scaled down Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park, including the Goliath roller coaster.

Are you ready for therapy?

Yes, as a fully licensed therapist, or professional counselor, I will offer you a safe, non-judgmental environment where you may be listened to and validated: It sounds cliché, doesn’t it? But it’s true: Feeling supported and truly listened to, validated, and understood is the foundation of effective therapy. For some people, developing insight into themselves may be sufficient to jumpstart personal change and self-development. Others come to therapy with a relatively high degree of insight: It varies with each person. Plus, all of this can be soothing and comforting in and of itself, however…

See my services

The various levels of healing in therapy

Despite its benefits, you, like many other people, may want to go further than being listened to in a warm, non-judgmental environment; In other words, you want very specific, structured help. For example, you may want to learn and practice skills and tools that you can habituate and use naturally in your daily living, and/or learn to bring into consciousness your unhelpful, self-defeating thinking patterns and to replace them with more realistic, positive ones so as to unlearn them. Moreover, you may specifically want to address and reduce very distressing symptoms related to the aftermath of your trauma experience, which sometimes may trace as far back as childhood. If this describes you, then you and I can also work through this together in therapy.

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