Find a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor

Welcome! I look forward to guiding you on your clinical development through decolonized, inclusive, trauma-informed supervision using over a decade of experience in case management, community mental health, private practice, and academia.

Offical Bio:
Mercedes Samudio, DSW, LCSW (she/her/hers; residing on Tongva Land) is a licensed clinical social worker, bestselling author, international speaker, visionary entrepreneur, and innovative researcher on African American mental health. She works with parents around the world in developing a healthy parental identity with her revolutionary Parental Identity Development Model and incorporating her Shame-Proof Parenting philosophy to help reduce the shame parents experience as they raise healthy children. Mercedes is also trained in trauma-informed modalities which she uses in her work with parents to help them heal the past traumas that can influence the ways parents interact with themselves and their children. Outside of her professional life supporting parents, Mercedes is married to her best friend and soulmate and they live in sunny Southern California with their 3 fur kids (2 cats and a dog).

Lifelong learning is the cornerstone for a successful professional. Dr. Menon can provide formal clinical supervision for graduate students, post-doctoral students and peer supervision for working professionals. These confidential, individual sessions provide an opportunity for didactic teaching, reflecting on the therapeutic process, case conceptualization, reviewing therapeutic techniques, strategies, and theoretical frameworks. https://mythrivecollective.com/meet-dr-vinita-menon/

As a therapist, I work with professional women who have chronic pain and/or chronic illnesses, many of whom have experienced some combination of being ignored, misdiagnosed, and gaslighted. I’m passionate about raising awareness of how ableism, sexism, racism, fatphobia, and various other systems of oppression affect our clients and about inspiring therapists to actively work to dismantle those systems. When our clients tell us this is happening, we need to believe them. If you’re also passionate about dismantling systems of oppression, we could be a good fit for supervision. I’m a feminist therapist, which means that I believe the personal is political and that I’m committed to identifying power imbalances—and eliminating them whenever possible. I’m an eclectic therapist, taking what works from several modalities and leaving the rest.

On a more personal note, I’m a white, smallfat, disabled/chronically ill, bisexual, cis woman. I’m an extrovert who loves most events where there’s food. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve watched The Golden Girls all the way through, and I don’t know what I would have done without them in the early days of the pandemic. I’m a night owl, and I wilt in the heat—which I define as anything above 70 degrees. I’m an adult third culture kid (TCK) who grew up in Thailand (I did a lot of wilting in the heat as a child!), so I’m deeply familiar with the push-pull of needing frequent change and adventure while also longing for the comfort and stability of a home I never had.