Therapists in Westminster, MD

There are times in life when it is difficult to believe that we will ever reach our dreams, hopes, goals, or have the future for which we had hoped. We may be feeling stuck, lonely, and unable to develop or access our wisdom and strengths. Too often, challenging life situations or decisions made in the past tend to have a lasting effect on our lives. I believe that everyone has the capacity to grow, change and heal our relationships with ourselves, our significant others, and those around us.

My individual clients include those dealing with mental health challenges; making decisions about career or relationships; or pursuing more fulfilling approaches to life. I work with couples of all ages, stages, and compositions, addressing communication, infidelity, loss of passion, infertility, parenting, strengthening relationships, and deciding. I work with couples struggling to decide if and how to continue to work on deeply troubled relationships and solidifying commitment. I see families dealing with communication issues, creating appropriate boundaries, and working through separation, divorce, and blended family issues .

I have been helping individuals and couples work through difficult issues in order to have a more fulfilling life for over fifteen years. Having been trained to work with people across the lifespan has enabled me to integrate an understanding of the origins, development and resolution of behavior and relationship patterns which are presently holding the client back from important accomplishments or feelings of well-being in their lives, even though these patterns may very well have historically originated out of a functional need.

My therapeutic approach is to work with you identifying your potential and the factors that maybe preventing you from achieving your goals. Together we will find and tailor the best therapeutic intervention to assist you. I am a culturally sensitive therapist with ample experience working with the Latino/Hispanic community as well as the Brazilian community. I also offer supervision for LGPCs and for LCPCs. I have 41 years of clinical experience initially as a physician and psychiatrist in Brazil, my birth country, and subsequently as a psychotherapist in the United States.

We see individuals, families and couples in DC, MD, VA, PA, and FL. We provide an encouraging, warm and open environment to help learn more about yourself and heal from the root up. We identify when negative patterns began and guide you to lead a happier and more peaceful life.

The goal of therapy isn’t to ‘feel better’, although that should be one of the outcomes. The suffering we experience is rarely a defective malfunctioning of the brain- it is in response to real challenges and is an important way to prepare ourselves for a developmental leap. When we are suffering, our brains release hormones that promote ‘neuroplasticity’, our minds begin to reexamine outdated narratives, and our relationships are challenged with the need for deeper vulnerability.

Duarte Aguiar is licensed in the state of Maryland as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC). He is a graduate of Loyola University with a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and has 5 years’ experience providing therapy in Maryland to a diverse client-base in a variety of clinical settings including school-based (adolescent and adult), substance abuse/recovery clinic, marriage and family, individual, groups, and psychoeducation.

"Help! My stress is over the top!" Have you found yourself thinking this? Are you facing difficult circumstances? Is stress from events in the world, or concerns about oppression and privilege, affecting you and/or your relationships? Is it harder to meet your commitments to family, friends, and/or groups and causes you care about? I specialize in helping adults, adolescents and families draw upon their strengths, solve problems, and develop new understanding and new skills.

As a therapist, I apply a family systems approach to help individuals navigate through life. My practice extends to couples, children, adolescents, and young adults dealing with general stress, life transitions, grief, anxiety, depression, and ADHD. I also enjoy providing premarital counseling to couples seeking to build a stronger foundation before embarking on their marital journey.

I am a Ph.D. level Licensed Psychologist who has been in the field of psychology for over 20 years. I provide individual/couple therapy to adults with various concerns, including anxiety, depression, relationship issues, trauma, loss, work related stress, and cross-cultural adjustment. I provide psychotherapy in English, Portuguese, and Spanish and have a special interest in working with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Prior to my current professional activities, I spent several years at the Department of Psychology of the George Washington University working with young adults and doing research with NIH.

How does anyone choose a therapist? The variety of options are daunting, and while many, many people have been to or go to a therapist, it is not a topic easily discussed, so it can be hard to find a recommendation. Many people resort to picking the person whose face looked nice, or went to a school they recognize, or work in a convenient location or accept their insurance. Often these techniques are sufficient, but when they are not it is a great loss, as it takes so much courage to look for a therapist in the first place.