“Ancestral Therapy” was born in 2022 and is a testament of Denisse’s personal journey of reconnecting to her roots, motherlands, cultura, and ancestors after moving to her pueblo in Mexico and living with her abuela.

Upon graduating with her Master’s of Science in Counseling Psychology in 2021, Denisse felt this deep calling to go live in Mexico as newly practicing psychotherapist , but faced so much turmoil in making the move down South given that she is a child of indigenous parents from El Salvador & Mexico who came to the USA for greater opportunities.

It took several months before she found the courage to listen to this calling, but she is so fortunate to have done so because otherwise she wouldn’t have lived with her abuela during her last year of life nor would she have gained this deep appreciation for ancestral wisdom & veneration when navigating grief and loss.

Living with her abuela paved the way for Denisse to also immerse herself in cultural practices by learning from her and gaining knowledge about limpias, pendulum work, altars, ceremony circles, and plant medicine while also working under Maestro Tata Pili. It was during a sitting with plant medicine that Denisse received felt the calling to open up “Ancestral Therapy” and thus this platform was born.

Building this platform has and is an ongoing journey of decolonizing mental health care and the importance of weaving spiritual and cultural practices into treatment, which is itself a reflection of the experiences of so many bicultural children of migrants or indigenous parents from Latinoamerica who grow up in the West and are disconnected to their roots, motherlands, cultura, and ancestors.

This is a homage to you & the importance of bridging both worlds we grew up in, recognizing the beauty and strength of ancestral wisdom & practices from our motherland and of the privilege of breaking generational cycles of trauma that have plagued your lineage due to oppressive systems & structures that were built to disempower you and your people.