Marina Compean, LCSW

What many people may know about me is that I am clinician and trainer/educator. I support many other therapists as well as healers with reconnecting with their body from a trauma informed lens as well as facilitate workshops on trauma informed care, embodied approaches to trauma recovery, attachment focused approaches and ACEs. And while I’m proud of my education training, and being able to do this healing work full time, I want to share more about me. My ancestors are from the land of kelites and nopales, the Chichimecas of Zacatecas and Durango. My grandmother’s house— in Texas—was surrounded with cotton fields and cattle. In her kitchen, she served us homemade tortillas, stuffed with herbs from her garden. She was both deeply religious and intimately connected to the land. With her own blend of homemade tinctures, she’d soothe our aches and pains, imbuing her soothing touch with grandmotherly wisdom and tough love.  She blended Catholicism and cultural  practices, inviting faith, spirit, and ancestors to bring healing to whatever ailed us. My extended family gatherings were warm and joyful. Celebrations reverberated with cumbia beats and Tex-Mex polkas. We learned to dance and sing with joy and through our grief. I was born on the frontera of Mexico and United States. A premie so fragile and tiny, that holding me induced anxiety and worry in tending to me. But, through the loving and tender care of my tias and the village that enveloped me, my mother and I came through that postpartum period and beyond. Growing up, we traveled back and forth the border seamlessly, family was “de aquí Y de allá”and I came to embrace being both Texan and Mexican. Chicana. I’ve had my share of hardship and grief—all of which inform my humanness as well as my ability to witness and hold deep grief and longing for tender care and understanding. My Medicine is being able to connect with my joy and play, and being a safe space for others to be held. At heart, I’m still that little girl crossing borders before any walls were put up, borrowing from my grandmothers approach of imbuing cultural informed practices with loving presence.   What I’m most proud of is the ways that I’ve continued to return to mothering myself, over and over again—and I’m doing so, I am able to offer that to others. In my practice, I cherish  the opportunities to continue to hold space and find joy, play, and connection. I wholeheartedly believe our lives need to be filled with boundless love and support and I hope to continue to be a resource for that to many more. In 2022, I adopted a sweet pup whom currently steals away most of my free time with vigorous walks and play sessions. I also enjoy gardening and cooking and am the happiest when among friends, sharing in a yummy meal, heartfelt conversations, belly laughs, and maybe even a little dancing. Marina Compean, LCSW