Mayrel Franco

Hi, I am Mayrel Franco. I hold a Master of Education in School Counseling from Seattle University and am a former educator with extensive experience supporting children, adolescents, and young adults. Having practiced extensively in high-needs elementary, middle, and secondary school settings, I specialize in helping youth navigate complex life transitions, cultivate self-advocacy, and heal from systemic and personal challenges. As a bilingual emerging clinician from an immigrant and neurodivergent background, I am deeply committed to bridging gaps in mental health access for historically underserved populations. I have significant experience supporting first-generation students through unique cultural and academic landscapes, and I am incredibly passionate about helping individuals learn to embrace, appreciate, and celebrate our life-learning process.

Clinical Focuses

I partner with children, adolescents, community resources, and families by tailoring evidence-based interventions to meet each individual's unique needs:

Life Transitions, Grief/Loss, & Relational Trauma: I assist individuals in navigating critical life transitions by helping them situate themselves in who they are, where they are in their own unique life stories, as well as recognizing social factors that may impact them. This helps support identity exploration and allows clients to learn to recognize the care they need while building
autonomy and self-advocacy. In my experience, this has been particularly relevant to individuals navigating systems/experiences for the first time and individuals impacted by changes in their lives such as grief/loss. Part of my work is centered in processing feelings, naming our experiences, using strength-based therapy, caring for trauma from a compassion lens, and
building resilience.

Emotional Regulation, Neurodiversity, & Substance Use: I provide support for managing and adapting to neurodivergence and emotional dysregulation in a world that often values productivity more than creativity, diversity, and authenticity. Last year in my projects with youth at school, we learned to read our bodies and emotions, and to recognize a dysregulated nervous system, as well as the struggles to cope when the impacts of emotional distress are reflected in relationships, responsibilities, academics, and overall health. Learning how to recognize emotions as caring signs can help us better understand anxiety, depression, anger, or substance use and their impact at the individual level, therefore giving us the insight needed to cope in the present while serving as a method of long-term wellness and prevention. Additionally, we collaborate to recognize personal goals and build sustainable coping strategies through motivational interviewing and the use of mindful grounding techniques to create meaningful change.

More About My Modality

In my practice, I provide a warm, client-centered, and holistic therapeutic environment rooted in genuine connection. Recognizing that our individual well-being is inextricably linked to our environment, I operate through a counseling social justice lens that acknowledges the broader systemic factors and settings impacting mental health. When working with children and adolescents, I actively collaborate with parents to support the whole family structure and build a unified network of care. Whether I am partnering with youth or working with individual adults, my ultimate goal is to hold a safe space where clients can work through complex and heavy challenges, cultivate joy, and achieve systemic wellness.

To help clients reach their personal and communal goals, I integrate a blend of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. This approach allows us to develop self-awareness, gently challenge limiting core beliefs, rewrite internalized narratives, and establish realistic, attainable steps toward change.

About Me

In my personal life, I enjoy engaging in creative and active pursuits that bring balance to my life. You can often find me reading, hiking, traveling, painting, dancing, or playing board games. I love exploring history, anthropology, fashion, and psychology, as well as experiencing new cultures and culinary experiences. Most of all, I cherish spending time with my loved ones, including my lovely family, my adorable dogs, and my loyal friends. I am also a huge fan of the horror, mystery, thriller, and drama genres.