“Therapy is only effective if there is a connection between the therapist and the client. I believe in my ability to connect with kids, teens, and adults. To help them navigate their confusion, or generate progress when they lack momentum. My faith comes from my own experience because I know what it’s like to explore and fight to carve out your identity. I know what it’s like to discover purpose."

Daniel recognizes the privilege of having hard-working parents. His parents had a harrowing migration journey from Cuba when they claimed asylum at the Peruvian embassy in 1980. In the U.S., they provided and allowed him to live in a lively neighborhood full of similarly-aged kids. He didn’t know it then, but he was learning how to function effectively in the world during those years of outdoor group play and hijinks (the big-wigs call it “executive functioning”). He feels he was the last generation before mobile devices upended adolescent development.

Daniel was a union camera assistant until 2015, when he pivoted away from the film industry to explore more interests: farming, beekeeping, submission grappling, and woodworking. He was clarifying his identity through engagement. During that time, he worked as a teaching assistant for children with learning disabilities and on the autism spectrum. He had a knack for working with them and their neurotypical peers because their work together didn’t end in the classroom. When it came time for recess, he engaged the kids in outdoor group play designed to strengthen their social skills, assertiveness, and spatial awareness (his favorite was “Nature Court: Cops, Robbers, and Lawyers”). Working outdoors meant kids were strengthening their imagination and expanding their comfort in a safe setting. Kids labeled as “aggressive” learned to protect lizards and spiders. Kids labeled as “impatient” could stay focused on a scavenger hunt.

In 2020, he earned his graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Florida International University. After graduating, he joined a community agency that worked with children and adolescents. Daniel worked with children and teenagers at home and in their school settings. Most often, sessions took place during walks at a park, while playing basketball, or hanging around in a jungle gym. Teens realized the relief of disconnecting from their phones and reconnecting with their needs. Very few of his clients have been seen in a traditional office space.

During his time in the school setting, Daniel developed effective strategies for working with children and teens who struggle with anxiety, oppositional traits, and paying attention. 

Daniel leans on Motivational Interviewing because he believes it “helps us live in alignment with our values”. Interpersonal Psychotherapy is essential to him because of how critical community and social connections are in one’s mental health. 

Daniel has been trained in Nondirective Play Therapy, is experienced in Nonviolent Communication for conflict resolution, and is certified by the Florida Society of Clinical Hypnosis in Mindfulness and Relaxation guidance. He is currently pursuing certification as a Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist (CCAT) by the Association of Experiential Education. 

Doubt, insecurity, loneliness, troubling thoughts or memories, unwanted habits, unwanted anger, or excessive anxiety; our minds try to protect us from suffering, so they find counterproductive ways to cope. He has been there and knows he will deal with it again at some point, he says “it’s universal.” He has faith with his help, you can identify ways to address what holds your child back from fulfilling their needs.