My name is Natalie Mena and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-R) in New York State. I like to describe myself as a Latina woman, a mother, and healer. There are many ways to interpret the word healer. In my Latino culture, a healer is translated as a curandero. I like to describe healer as persevering from intergenerational trauma and becoming one’s greatest self. I am on a journey to greater self-discovery, and I want to encourage others to do the same.

I was born and raised in the Boogie Down Bronx by a Nuyorican mother and Dominican father. Being an orphan by the age of eighteen has helped me to thrive in a world that did not expect me to succeed. With the remembrance of my mother’s love and her importance on education, I have navigated systems that were meant to break me down and persevered into becoming the woman I am today. I care deeply about sharing my experiences, both professional and personal, in hopes of relating to others who are suffering in silence while also educating professionals in the field of mental health.

I have been providing quality clinical care since graduating from Columbia University School of Social Work in 2011. I am a current candidate at a Four-Year Certificate Program in Psychoanalysis from the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society & Institute in New York City. My professional experience includes working with adults, individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), families, and children. I collaborate with individuals and organizations to help identify clinical needs around mental health care, supervision, workshop presentations, professional speaking engagements, and coaching.