Introduction to Me and My Car

Hi, my name is Victoria Rodriguez, and my car is a disaster zone. This is because I'm a Provisionally Licensed Counselor in rural Louisiana providing home-based therapy for a community mental health agency. This means I eat in my car, travel in my car up to 3 hours a day, and hoard counseling worksheets in the backseat.

Still too embarrassed to post a pic of my car

I'm also researching home-based interventions for my PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at the University of New Orleans so I'm sure you'll find some homework crammed under the seats as well. Despite the fact that I'm too tired at the end of most days to clean my car, I love what I do for a living and what I research for school. I started this website to gather resources for other community mental health professionals and to advocate this under-researched and often misunderstood area of mental health.

Why write about community mental health?

• To provide additional supports to those in the helping fields (psychology, sociology, counseling, etc) as home-based therapy is often the first job for recent graduates (Hammond and Czyszczon)
• To advocate for the needs of mental health professionals in this setting to prevent burnout and to obtain support and resources
• To fullfill my ethical obligation of promoting justice as outlined in the American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics by promoting a modality of counseling that emphasizes equal access for all clients

Chi Sigma Iota event with my Tiny Wheel Of Wellness

I work with adult individuals who have a mental health diagnosis and who qualify for Medicaid. Most of my clients come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds which can be difficult to address in a rural setting where resources are already tight. I know I'm extremely lucky to have great supervisors, a liveable salary, and support from my professors while researching this topic.

This website is for home-based mental health professionals serving in all roles:

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Students
• Supervisors
• Educators

In addition to this blog, be sure to check out the Facebook page for My Car Is My Office and check the Instagram page as well for resources and information.

Perhaps most importantly, I'm so proud to offer our Facebook group for those in this field to connect and commiserate about no shows and gas station bathrooms.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this blog, please check out the contact page and leave me a message.