Marisa Esparza

Marisa Esparza is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Texas with 10 years of experience supporting people across a wide range of life stages and settings. She earned a Master of Education in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Texas at El Paso in December 2015, following a Bachelor of Education from the same university in May 2011. Her background includes work in inpatient, outpatient, and community-based care, giving her a practical understanding of the barriers that can make it difficult to access and stay engaged in mental health treatment.

In her most recent role at El Paso Behavioral Health Systems, Marisa served as a program manager across multiple levels of care, including a children and adolescents inpatient unit, an adult and military outpatient group, and an adolescent outpatient group. In these settings, she collaborated with patients, medical staff, and families to help stabilize high-risk children and adults. Her work included providing psychological and risk assessments to clarify needs, facilitating daily groups and family sessions, responding to emergencies on the unit, and using rapport-building and verbal de-escalation skills during crises while coordinating with treatment teams to support safety in the community.

Earlier in her career, Marisa worked as a qualified mental health professional on an Assertive Community Treatment team, providing psychiatric rehabilitative skills training and crisis assessment and management in clients’ homes and in the community. She also completed ongoing assessment and preliminary diagnostic impressions related to psychiatric and co-occurring concerns, while coordinating community resources connected to medical, social, educational, and financial needs to promote stability and reduce unnecessary hospitalization.

Marisa’s training includes extensive experience with children, adolescents, adults, military members, and seniors, and her internship work included group therapy, assessments, risk assessments, and participation in family and treatment team sessions. She is especially passionate about working with adolescents, young adults, and their families, with attention to bridging gaps in communication and worldviews. Marisa is an LGBTQIA advocate who values empowering youth exploring identity and helping families learn how to offer support.