Today we’d like to introduce you to Jocelyn Cadiz.
Hi Jocelyn, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I came to the LPC path a little later in life, but looking back, all my experiences led me here. In high school and college I worked on the newspaper and loved digging into people’s stories. Later, as a health coach and even as a background investigator for security clearances, I kept finding myself in the same place—listening deeply to people’s ups and downs.
As a military spouse, I spent a decade overseas, which was an amazing experience, but it made building a career difficult. When we returned to the U.S., I was in my mid-40s, ready for something meaningful but unsure what that was. A longtime friend suggested counseling, and I was hesitant to apply for the master’s program due to having been rejected from a masters in public relations program a few years earlier. I told myself if I was accepted into the counseling masters that that was going to be my path.
Since then, I’ve worked in private practice during my internship, in the PHP/IOP level of care, and at a group practice, learning something new at each step. Two years ago, I started Dovetail Mental Health, and today it’s grown to the point of having three student interns. It’s been a journey, but definitely feels like the right one.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been an entirely smooth road, no. From the very beginning, before I even applied to grad school, I knew I wanted to open my own practice. I’ve always valued autonomy, and after running my own business as a health coach, I knew I had an entrepreneurial streak. But starting later in life also meant I missed some of the professional lessons people often pick up in their 20s and 30s. I found myself learning things in my 40s the hard way, and at times I felt naïve.
On top of that, my health has been a major challenge. I have a genetic lung disease that has caused multiple lung collapses and 4 surgeries. At one point, I was almost misdiagnosed with LAM, which could have meant not living to see my children grow up. At the time, they were just 8 months, 2, and 4 years old. That was a terrifying couple of months, but it completely changed my perspective. Where before I could get weighed down by the daily grind of raising little ones, afterward I was so grateful to be with them even on the most frustrating days. It turns out my condition wasn’t as fatal as what they initially thought, but the health challenges are still a part of my life, and two of my kids also inherited it and have had their own surgeries.
Years later when I began seeing clients individually I started to notice fatigue I had never experienced before. I also experienced a painful friend break up, and I wondered if I was depressed, or did I not really like counseling? But I knew neither was true. I sought therapy and anti-depressants, and while I am a supporter of medications when helpful, the antidepressants were not touching the fatigue. I had a sleep study done, took supplements for perimenopause, started HRT, really pursued anything I could think of. I finally sought out ADHD testing, wondering if the direct correlation of fatigue during sessions was due to the effort of sustained focus, and was late-diagnosed at age 50. This is a new part of my story that I’m still navigating, but I’m glad for real answers that I can work with so that I can do better work with my clients.
So while I’ve stumbled through professional lessons later in life and navigated very real health challenges, those experiences have shaped me into the counselor I am today. They gave me both a deep appreciation for life and a commitment to honoring and supporting people’s challenges and struggles.
We’ve been impressed with Dovetail Mental Health, PLLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The name Dovetail has a special history for me — years ago I worked at a public relations firm with that name, and I loved how it symbolized the strong connection between the agency and its clients. Now, I see it as the same kind of relationship between therapist and client: a strong foundational connection through trust and rapport building is an absolute must before therapy can be effective.
I help individuals and couples heal from trauma, betrayal, and abuse; navigate complex relationships; build stronger self-esteem, emotional awareness, and boundaries. My approach is conversational and collaborative — clients often tell me they feel comfortable right away and open up to me in ways they haven’t been able to before. My modalities include Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and couples therapy using the Gottman Method. I am EMDR Certified, Gottman Level 2 Trained, CPT Trained, a Certified Narcissistic Abuse Treatment Clinician, and a Certified Personality Disorder Treatment Provider.
I’m also proud that Dovetail is helping to train the next generation of counselors. We now 3 have graduate student interns who provide therapy at reduced rates, which expands access while giving them real-world experience in a supportive environment. Each one brings something valuable to clients that I cannot provide, and I am also learning so much from them. Johnathan works with older teens and adults and especially loves to support college students. Kirsten is TBRI and EMDR trained, and works with kids through adults. Jasmine is also EMDR trained and can support Spanish speaking clients; she works with teens and adults.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
In some ways, I am a risk-taker. I married my husband just six months after we met (I do not advise this, please do not follow my example! Ha!). Our commitment, faith, stubbornness, marriage counseling, and sense of adventure have kept us going for over 26 years now but it has not been easy. Also, while living in Germany, we took the leap to build a house after reviewing contracts with a lawyer and weighing our pros and cons. Ultimately I’m not sure it was worth it, but we definitely learned some things along the way. Sometimes I make risky moves when I don’t have time to think and just have to spring into action. I think I weigh risks carefully and sometimes that means doing something others might not think were worth doing. I believe nothing we experience in life goes to waste though, and hopefully helps us to become better humans to those around us.
Pricing:
- Individual sessions $150
- Couples sessions $175
- Intern sessions $35
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dovetailmentalhealth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dovetail_mental_health_pllc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550950216556
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jocelyn-cadiz-north-richland-hills-tx/1067524
Image Credits
Merari Reyes
