Alma Lazaro, MSW, LSW
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Masters of Social Work
Licensed Social Worker To make an appointment with Alma, please call 630-570-0050. You can also email [email protected].
Specializes In:Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Caregiver Support, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Depression
Ages Served: Adolescents (15+), Adults, Older Adults |
Professional Experience
I received my Bachelor of Science from Northern Illinois University and my Master of Social Work from Aurora University. At Northern, I majored in psychology with minors in Spanish and counseling. While completing my bachelor’s degree, I worked as a certified nursing assistant. In this role, I worked with a population of older adults, ages 65+. Working as a certified nursing assistant, I found a passion for working in a healthcare setting with residents and residents’ families who were dealing with the hardships of chronic illnesses or end-of-life care. This inspired me to take the healthcare track while pursuing my master’s degree at Aurora University. While completing my master’s degree, I did my first-year internship at a domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center where I then became a case manager. Through this job, I was able to learn about trauma-informed practices used while working with survivors, as well as crisis intervention skills. For my second-year internship, I completed an internship at a hospital where I worked with connecting patients and families to vital resources in the community.
Specializations and Treatment Approach
I currently treat:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Caregiver support
Domestic violence
Sexual assault
Health anxiety
I am bilingual, I speak both English and Spanish. I am passionate about working with the Hispanic population and enjoy working with late adolescents (15-18), emerging adults, adults, and older adults (65+).
My approach is finding what works best for the client and their presenting problem. Everyone is different, so therapy will be a different experience for everyone and should be tailored to the client's needs. Leading with evidence-based treatment approaches, I work primarily using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Person-Centered, Strengths-Based, Mindfulness-Based, and Attachment-Based treatment approaches.
I strive to create a space that feels safe for both the client and clinician and a space for the client to be heard. Oftentimes, therapy is the only place where a client can share how they are feeling and be truly open. I do not take my clients’ trust lightly and want to strive to create a space that can fuel a healthy and strong therapeutic alliance that is filled with trust, mutual respect, and honesty.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Caregiver support
Domestic violence
Sexual assault
Health anxiety
I am bilingual, I speak both English and Spanish. I am passionate about working with the Hispanic population and enjoy working with late adolescents (15-18), emerging adults, adults, and older adults (65+).
My approach is finding what works best for the client and their presenting problem. Everyone is different, so therapy will be a different experience for everyone and should be tailored to the client's needs. Leading with evidence-based treatment approaches, I work primarily using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Person-Centered, Strengths-Based, Mindfulness-Based, and Attachment-Based treatment approaches.
I strive to create a space that feels safe for both the client and clinician and a space for the client to be heard. Oftentimes, therapy is the only place where a client can share how they are feeling and be truly open. I do not take my clients’ trust lightly and want to strive to create a space that can fuel a healthy and strong therapeutic alliance that is filled with trust, mutual respect, and honesty.
About Me
What are your professional and personal values?
My core values are adventure, kindness, respect, justice, integrity, and genuineness. Adventure is one of my core values because I am an avid traveler and love to try new things. Kindness is a core value because I believe that everyone should be kind to one another. You never know what someone is going through, and leading with kindness can always have a positive impact. It is important to me to be respectful of everyone and build relationships with clients that foster mutual respect. Justice is an important core value because I try to strive to be as fair and ethical as possible in my work, and believe that consistency is important in all aspects of life. I value genuineness because I strive to be unapologetically me, and be open and honest about who I am. Integrity sometimes requires doing the hard thing because it is the right thing, and this profession is all about integrity. I am always striving to have the highest integrity in my personal life and professional life, and always advocating for my clients and my beliefs.
What are some adjectives you would use to describe yourself and why?
I would describe myself to be responsible, compassionate, determined, authentic, casual, and funny. I always strive to be responsible in professional and personal settings and am a reliable person. It is important to me to be responsible and reliable when working with clients. If I say I am going to do something, I do it. Whenever someone opens up to me, I come from a place of understanding and offer compassion.
I would say that being determined is a good way to describe my strong passion for what I believe in and what I believe I am capable of doing. I know that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to. I feel a sense of joy when I see my clients also be determined when working together to achieve their goals.
I am authentic about who I am, what you see is what you get. I would say that it reigns very true when describing how casual I am, both in talk and how I dress, especially outside of work. When I am not at work, I am wearing sweats, a big T-shirt, and you will never see me without Crocs on. In terms of funny, I would say that I think that I am hilarious… Maybe even funnier than Adam Sandler (kidding). I like to use humor when appropriate while working with clients as a way to bring some lightheartedness to heavy conversations.
What are some of your favorite self-care activities?
I love spending time with family and friends, traveling, hiking, reading, journaling, and watching Netflix reality tv shows. They are cheesy, I know, but I love them.
What is your favorite quote/some of your favorite quotes?
One of my favorite quotes is, “I have decided that in this life, I want to be defined by the things I love- not the things I hate, the things I’m afraid of, or the things that taunt me in the middle of the night. Those things may be struggles, but they are not my identity. I wish the same for you.”- Taylor Swift.
It is no surprise that one of my favorite quotes comes from Taylor Swift, who is my favorite artist. However, when I heard this quote, it spoke to me in more ways than one. To me, this quote is an acknowledgment of all the hardships of life, but not letting those hardships decide who you are. We have the ability to be defined by what WE want to be defined by. All of the hard things that we have experienced may be a part of our story, but they do not have the power to control everything that we are. In this life, you have the power to decide what you are defined by. What do you want to be defined by in life?
Another favorite quote is, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.
When I first heard this quote, I was a junior in high school. I remember feeling impacted by the weight of the words. Over time, I have seen this quote more and more. However, to me, it is just a reminder of the important work that I do and the importance of life in general. We have to be the change that we wish to see. We have the power to influence positive change within ourselves and in the lives of others around us.
What’s the most profound, meaningful, or interesting thing you’ve learned or experienced as a mental health professional? Why do you love being a mental health professional?
The most profound thing that I have learned while being a mental health professional is that the world is full of resilient people and it is inspiring. There is never a day that it gets lost on me how fortunate I am to be able to sit across from someone and be trusted to hear their stories. It is courageous the way that clients come to mental health professionals to create positive change in their lives. From being there for my clients during their hardships to celebrating with them their successes, I am grateful for it all. The feeling of witnessing a client’s growth is indescribable. I love being a mental health professional. If I am able to positively impact just one life, then I will have done everything I have ever hoped and wished to accomplish.
My core values are adventure, kindness, respect, justice, integrity, and genuineness. Adventure is one of my core values because I am an avid traveler and love to try new things. Kindness is a core value because I believe that everyone should be kind to one another. You never know what someone is going through, and leading with kindness can always have a positive impact. It is important to me to be respectful of everyone and build relationships with clients that foster mutual respect. Justice is an important core value because I try to strive to be as fair and ethical as possible in my work, and believe that consistency is important in all aspects of life. I value genuineness because I strive to be unapologetically me, and be open and honest about who I am. Integrity sometimes requires doing the hard thing because it is the right thing, and this profession is all about integrity. I am always striving to have the highest integrity in my personal life and professional life, and always advocating for my clients and my beliefs.
What are some adjectives you would use to describe yourself and why?
I would describe myself to be responsible, compassionate, determined, authentic, casual, and funny. I always strive to be responsible in professional and personal settings and am a reliable person. It is important to me to be responsible and reliable when working with clients. If I say I am going to do something, I do it. Whenever someone opens up to me, I come from a place of understanding and offer compassion.
I would say that being determined is a good way to describe my strong passion for what I believe in and what I believe I am capable of doing. I know that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to. I feel a sense of joy when I see my clients also be determined when working together to achieve their goals.
I am authentic about who I am, what you see is what you get. I would say that it reigns very true when describing how casual I am, both in talk and how I dress, especially outside of work. When I am not at work, I am wearing sweats, a big T-shirt, and you will never see me without Crocs on. In terms of funny, I would say that I think that I am hilarious… Maybe even funnier than Adam Sandler (kidding). I like to use humor when appropriate while working with clients as a way to bring some lightheartedness to heavy conversations.
What are some of your favorite self-care activities?
I love spending time with family and friends, traveling, hiking, reading, journaling, and watching Netflix reality tv shows. They are cheesy, I know, but I love them.
What is your favorite quote/some of your favorite quotes?
One of my favorite quotes is, “I have decided that in this life, I want to be defined by the things I love- not the things I hate, the things I’m afraid of, or the things that taunt me in the middle of the night. Those things may be struggles, but they are not my identity. I wish the same for you.”- Taylor Swift.
It is no surprise that one of my favorite quotes comes from Taylor Swift, who is my favorite artist. However, when I heard this quote, it spoke to me in more ways than one. To me, this quote is an acknowledgment of all the hardships of life, but not letting those hardships decide who you are. We have the ability to be defined by what WE want to be defined by. All of the hard things that we have experienced may be a part of our story, but they do not have the power to control everything that we are. In this life, you have the power to decide what you are defined by. What do you want to be defined by in life?
Another favorite quote is, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.
When I first heard this quote, I was a junior in high school. I remember feeling impacted by the weight of the words. Over time, I have seen this quote more and more. However, to me, it is just a reminder of the important work that I do and the importance of life in general. We have to be the change that we wish to see. We have the power to influence positive change within ourselves and in the lives of others around us.
What’s the most profound, meaningful, or interesting thing you’ve learned or experienced as a mental health professional? Why do you love being a mental health professional?
The most profound thing that I have learned while being a mental health professional is that the world is full of resilient people and it is inspiring. There is never a day that it gets lost on me how fortunate I am to be able to sit across from someone and be trusted to hear their stories. It is courageous the way that clients come to mental health professionals to create positive change in their lives. From being there for my clients during their hardships to celebrating with them their successes, I am grateful for it all. The feeling of witnessing a client’s growth is indescribable. I love being a mental health professional. If I am able to positively impact just one life, then I will have done everything I have ever hoped and wished to accomplish.
Professional and Educational Additional Experience
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Training
Mental Health First Aid Training
Cultural Competency Training
Mental Health First Aid Training
Cultural Competency Training
Alma's Blogs:
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The Latinx population is rapidly growing in the United States (Valdivieso-Mora et al., 2016). The Latinx population makes up about 16.3% of the total population in the United States (Mendoza et al., 2015). As a fast-growing population, mental health in the Latinx community has been studied more in recent years, and new findings are coming out about what individuals in the Latinx community face. There are many barriers that impact individuals in minority communities when it comes to mental health. From stigma, feelings surrounding treatment, and systemic barriers, it is important to be able to have an understanding of what individuals in the Latinx community face to understand what it is that mental health professionals and individuals can do to help support someone seeking services. This blog post will help break down some common questions that come along with mental health stigma and treatment in the Latinx community...(to read more, click on the link above).
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