Meet Tierra Ortiz-Rodriguez | Licensed Professional Counselor, Ecotherapist, and Fellow Traveler

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tierra Ortiz-Rodriguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tierra, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?

At the end of last year, I took a leap of faith and left my 9-5 job to start my counseling practice, Pathways to MindBodySoul, PLLC. Over the past 10 years of journeying with many clients and offering many forms of psychotherapy, I’ve honed in on a special blend of holistic, evidence-based treatments that produce transformational change for my clients and spark joy in me. I specialize in creative therapy drawing from Accelerated Resolution Therapy, Ecotherapy, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, Mindfulness, and Expressive Arts, to name a few. My mission is to empower people to connect with nature, mindfulness, and creativity to learn, heal, and grow. I have a particular calling to help people soar above anxiety, trauma, and chronic pain using the art and science of mind-body connection.

One of the unique things about my practice is that I offer therapy outdoors, also known as Ecotherapy and Walk and Talk Therapy. The idea for that goes as far back as 2011, when I took a leave of absence from graduate school to hike 700 glorious miles of the Appalachian Trail. Hiking the AT gave me a firsthand experience of nature’s healing potential for mind, body, and soul. Thus began a lifelong fascination with pathways, detours, and the journey experience! In 2021, I became a certified ecotherapist with the Earthbody Institute. I’m a big fan of Joseph Campbell’s “the hero’s journey,” and I believe we are all on a journey to become the hero of our own story. As a therapist and fellow traveler, I love helping my clients unlock their unique resilience and resourcefulness in facing life’s challenges and actualizing their highest goals.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

Nature, mindfulness, and creativity are three core values and pillars of wellness that I’m proud to stand by in my counseling practice. Every client receives a unique blend of these three ingredients based on their needs and goals. For example, for clients with chronic pain, mindfulness skills play a big role in Pain Reprocessing Therapy. In PRT, I teach techniques to disrupt the pain-fear cycle and retrain the brain to feel safe using mindfulness of thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and body sensations. I also incorporate Accelerated Resolution Therapy, which is a creative eye movement and memory reconsolidation therapy that allows clients to neutralize triggers and rehearse success in the virtual reality of their mind. I also encourage my chronic pain clients to get physically active again, and this is where nature, ecotherapy, and mindful outdoor experiences have a lot to offer in the way of promoting an active lifestyle and overall physical and mental health.

As a therapist who specializes in anxiety, trauma, and stress, I want people to know that expressive arts have a lot to offer in the healing process. In addition to more “left brain” approaches I offer like cognitive behavioral therapy and schema therapy, I also encourage my clients to read or write a poem, journal, listen to a song, share a dream, paint, draw, or make SoulCollage® cards to express and dialogue with inner parts. I believe it is important to invite an array of “right brain” expressive arts into the therapeutic adventure, which help us be more balanced and better get to know our inner wisdom and authentic inner voice.

I’m a big fan of whole-health approaches to mental health. As a therapist, a mindfulness practitioner, nature lover, poet, SoulCollage® facilitator, and fellow traveler, every experience has taught me to appreciate the interrelationships of Mind, Body, and Soul. In therapy, I want people to know that all parts of them are welcomed and appreciated.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a native Houstonian and moved to Sugar Land, Texas four years ago. Some fun, outdoorsy things in Sugar Land include going hiking and birding at Cullinan Park, seeing the alligators at Brazos Bend State Park, and biking at Brazos River Park. After working up a good appetite with those activities, you can grab lunch at one of the many pho spots around town. Some of my favorites are Simply Pho & Bo Ne, Pho Ben, and The Pho Shack. Bubble tea is always a good option, too! I most recently visited Sharetea, and I hear Ding Tea makes a mean taro tea. In Houston, I love going wine tasting at TuttiLili Wines and French Country Wines. They host free wine tastings on Saturdays. Another option is to get your zen on over a cup of tea at The Path of Tea, which has so many delicious teas to try. One of my favorites is the Organic Jasmine Dragon Pearl tea. While in the area, you can go to the Rothko Chapel for a cool and quiet place to meditate, and then walk to The Menil Collection for art ranging from prehistoric to modern. The museum district is close by, so there is a lot of art and nature to explore. I recommend The Jung Center for events and programs featuring a range of psychological, artistic, and spiritual topics.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many helpers, teachers, mentors, and guides we meet on the path who inspire us and influence the trajectory of our lives. I’d like to shoutout Kai Siedenburg, ecotherapist and ecopoet extraordinaire who regularly inspires me to integrate nature and poetry into therapy. I met Kai in a class she taught, “Connecting with Nature Indoors and on Zoom.” I was immediately drawn to her warm presence and wisdom that she so evidently gleans from a deep and nourishing connection with nature. I proceeded to take Kai’s four-week program, “Turning Toward Nature,” and six-week series, “The Nature of Writing.” I highly recommend her programs! Meeting Kai and receiving her nature-based teachings reinforced my decision to get certified in ecotherapy and motivated me to start writing my own nature poetry. Kai has two books of poetry published, Poems of Earth and Spirit and Space Between the Stones. You can find Kai’s work and programs on her website, Our Nature Connection: https://ournatureconnection.com/

Website: https://pathwaystomindbodysoul.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pathwaystomindbodysoul/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076893233268

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLJNl2qIEGT-a2HGIgephg