Abby Fuentes LSW

Hi there! My name is Abby, and my pronouns are she/her/ella. As a Latina of Mexican-American heritage, coming from immigrant grandparents, who is also the eldest daughter and identifies within the LGBTQIA+ community, I understand how important it is to feel seen for who you are, and being empowered to continue to explore yourself. As the first person within my immediate family to seek counseling, I empathize with how vulnerable it can feel to take ownership of your mental health and managing stress. This is why I strive to support individuals through holding a frame that honors your livelihood, making sure to be considerate of the intersectional impact of personality, culture, family dynamics, systemic oppression, and other unique factors that are important to you. Although I have gained an understanding that therapy interventions can come in a variety of forms, I also recognize that many of these approaches were not created with the BIPOC and queer community in mind. This is why I actively prioritize my own self-reflection and healing, making sure to think critically about my positions of privilege, power, and oppression, to consider how I show up in the therapy room.

When it comes to therapy, I strive to maintain a stance of curiosity and a willingness to learn with you. I believe that the key to effective therapy is genuine relationships, so I approach relationship building with warmth, authenticity, humor, and patience by committing to meet you at your pace, and celebrating all the milestones along the way. My desire is to work together in creating a space where you feel able to reflect on yourself, your experiences, and your story. I value that you are the teller of your own story, and I want you to know that what feels most comfortable for you is a priority to me.

In my practice, I aim to understand issues through various lenses, such as developmental theory (exploring personal history from childhood to understand patterns showing up in the present), attachment theory (exploring the impact of different relationships in your life and across the lifespan), trauma-informed (understanding the impact of trauma on one’s well-being and capacities), and intersectionality (understanding how various aspects of identity create unique experiences of oppression and privilege).

These perspectives allow me to understand my clients more holistically, within their history, relationships, and social context. When working with clients, I am curious about current and past relationships, because I believe our personal development happens within relationships. I believe it’s through our interactions with others and the environment around us that we learn about ourselves and make sense of our place in the world. These interactions can encourage or harm what we believe about ourselves. Experiences of stress, harm, and trauma can disrupt our perceived sense of safety, creating mistrust in ourselves and others which can create obstacles for personal growth and integration into a supportive community moving forward. Because of this, I invite clients to reflect on early relationships and experiences from childhood because they can reveal patterns that shape how we relate to others in adulthood.

To schedule an appointment: info@mindfullifechicago.com

I believe a safe community is essential to healing, as this can mirror to you your inherent strengths, remind you of your worth, and increase kindness towards yourself. I want to be a member of your community.

I believe that due to the White supremacist values that were forced upon us by the matter of living in this society, each of us is privy to a level of power and oppression. In therapy, I believe it’s important for us to explore how your identities, racial, economic, social, or otherwise influence how you experience power, safety, and connection because these experiences shape how we show up in relationship with ourselves and others. I also engage in this work myself, reflecting on how I show up in the room and how my own identities and experiences shape the therapeutic relationship.  I acknowledge that even as a bisexual individual with a lineage of immigration, I still hold privilege as a White-passing Latina growing up in the U.S. with English as my first language and access to higher education. I am committed to keeping in mind how this impacts my proximity to power and earn your trust by honoring your lived experiences, whether similar or dissimilar to my own.

In my own life, I have seen how self-compassion has supported my outlook for myself, such as reframing obstacles as opportunities for growth, not because they happened, but because of what these experiences revealed about my strengths. Through a willingness to be vulnerable and reflect, I have begun to rebuild inner security that allows me to explore a more authentic version of myself. These experiences have deeply informed how I practice as a therapist, allowing me to approach others’ stories through a lens of compassion, curiosity, and respect. I believe a safe community is essential to healing, as this can mirror to you your inherent strengths, remind you of your worth, and increase kindness towards yourself. I want to be a member of your community. Through holding unconditional positive regard for your experiences, my hope is that you will develop a more compassionate attitude towards yourself, stretch your window of capacity by developing coping strategies that align with your values, and allow you to live more authentically as yourself.

I use treatment modalities that are influenced by approaches of motivational interviewing, which focuses on highlighting the strengths that you already possess, and somatic practices, which support understanding of how emotions are felt and expressed through our bodies. Most importantly, I center lived experiences, which means learning from you and your experience of the world is the most important guide I use to understanding how we can collaborate together to support you. Although I am not fluent in Spanish, I am continuing to practice and I often incorporate slang and phrases into my sessions!

In my free time, I love being with my family cooking together, watching movies, and going on walks with our family yorkie, Gonsito. I also enjoy spending time with my partner and friends, having conversations about shared experiences, tv, or music. I love to dance, and recently joined a dance team that focuses on Latin styles like bachata, salsa, reggaeton, as well as hip-hop. When I am not out and about, I enjoy curling up with my cat, Vanilla Bean, while enjoying a good book, binge-watching tv, or playing cozy games on my switch.