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Miguel Brown M.S.Ed, LMFT

Personal Background

I was born in Valencia, Venezuela to an English father and a Venezuelan mother. I grew up speaking English and Spanish fluently and being keenly aware of language and cultural differences. This was intensified by my family's tendency to move to different countries following my father's career developments and our travels around North America, South America, and Europe. Most of the time I attended international schools where I met and befriended people from all over the world. We ended up living in Venezuela, Chile, and Florida where we decided to settle long-term and we've been here now for over 25 years. In Florida I've completed by education, started my private practice and gotten married. This background came with its own mix of blessings and challenges. Looking back, it contributed a lot to my interest in people, growing up, and psychology. 

 

Below is the story of how I started working online and a full accounting of my educational and professional experience. 

My Online Psychotherapy Story

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Over these last 12 years of working with teenagers and their parents, I've gained a reputation for being a relatable and effective psychotherapist in person, but I resisted the online counseling experience for a long time—that is until the COVID lockdowns hit. Then it was a matter of adapt or close shop. I reluctantly adapted to offering online sessions to meet the obvious need and was pleasantly surprised to discover that online psychotherapy had amazing positive qualities. It does indeed offer the same potential for all the therapeutic benefits that can happen with in-person psychotherapy within a traditional office environment. Productive therapeutic relationships with trust and heart happen online! Life-changing realizations, the healing of old wounds, and enthusiastic growth happen online! And teenagers, with their extensive experience with computers, just know how to relate to people online. It's nothing new for them.

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I really doubted that this was possible, but the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and my positive experiences counseling teenagers online were undeniable. So, I became a true believer. I also came to understand the power of convenience. In-person psychotherapy can be troubled by the clinically important factor of practicality. Practicality is clinically important because if psychotherapy isn't practical enough, it interferes, sometimes terminally, with one of the basic requirements of effective psychotherapy: CONSISTENCY OF TREATMENT. Effective psychotherapy takes place when people engage in regular sessions over time. The most common reason for a disappointing result in teen counseling is simple: lack of consistency.

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Before COVID, when I insisted on sessions being done in person, it happened much too often. Parents would be interested in continuing their teenagers' counseling, but the inconvenience of making it to an in-person session considering their modern busy schedules was sometimes so stressful and time-consuming that inevitably sessions ended up being canceled, rescheduled too often, or simply forgotten about. This is the biggest and most clinically destructive downside of in-person teen counseling.

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But don't get me wrong... There's nothing like the full experience of having someone in the room with you when you're providing teen counseling. For that reason, I'll never give up my brick-and-mortar office and I will never stop offering in-person teen counseling. But, I see now that insisting on in-person counseling allows a lot of people who could be profoundly helped to fall through the cracks. There's simply no need for that.

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​It's like insisting on only listening to music when it's being played live in front of you. That would be amazing, and sometimes we just have to go to that concert, but let’s not pretend that recorded music isn't incredible in its own right. How many times have we delighted in listening to our favorite song in the car or in our own little world with some earbuds on? Or when we have to hear that one song to help us feel what we need to feel? How magical are those moments? Would you give that up to insist on in-person live music? I wouldn't.​

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So here we are! The reality is that Teen Counseling Online is an important and effective option for so many people that now I offer it to everyone. That's why this website exists and why I professionally recommend online psychotherapy. When you feel ready please reach out to me. I would be happy to show you the ropes and help you and your teenager along in the healing and growth-promoting process that comes with the convenience and power of online psychotherapy.​

My Professional Background

Curriculum Vitae

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE 

Miami Teen Counseling LLC, South Miami, FL 

miamiteencounseling.com 

Owner, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MT2915) in Private Practice July 2012 - Present 

  • Individual counseling for adolescents in English and Spanish using person centered and psychodynamic approaches 

  • Parenting sessions in English and Spanish using structural, person centered and psychodynamic approaches 

  • Online psychotherapy with adolescents and parents via virtual branch www.teencounselingonline.net

  • Blogging on topics relevant to teenagers and parents 

  • Office management, marketing and clinical documentation 

 

“El Centro” Center of Excellence for Hispanic Health Disparities Research, University of Miami, Miami, FL 

Supervisor:  Dr. Daniel Santisteban 

Practicum Outplacement May 2011 – May 2012 

  • Conducted individual therapy in English and Spanish for 11-15 year old Hispanic study participants as part of the control group for a drug prevention study 

  • Conducted didactic drug group therapy in English and Spanish for 14-17 year old Hispanic study participants as part of the control group for a drug treatment efficacy study. 

 

Institute for Individual and Family Counseling, University of Miami, Miami, FL 

Supervisor: Dr. Cassaundra Wimes 

Staff Therapist, University Practicum May 2011 – May 2012 

  • Conducted individual and family therapy for a variety of clients in English and Spanish.  

  • Attended regular “in-service” training workshops. 

 

Henderson Mental Health Center, Family Resource Team, Fort Lauderdale, FL  

Supervisor:  Lauren Zuchman LMHC 

Family Resource Coordinator, September 2005 – September 2006 

  • Working with Families on wide variety of issues 

  • Experience working with clients with various diagnosis 

  • Coordinating services and overall plan development and implementation 

  • Heavy experience with domestic violence 

 

Henderson Mental Health Center, Alternative to Residential Treatment Team, Fort Lauderdale, FL 

Supervisor:  Lauren Zuchman LCSW  

Behavior Technician/Youth Case Manager, September 2006 – December 2006 and May 2008 – June 2009 

  • Using basic behavioral techniques to increase desirable behavior and decrease undesirable behavior in severely impaired adolescents 

  • Coordinating services and overall plan development and implementation 

  • Heavy experience with treatment teams involving counselors, psychiatrists, school professionals and families 

 

Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Camp E-Tu-Makee, Clewiston, FL  

Supervisor: Patrick Girdner MA 

Outdoor youth counselor, September 2007 – May 2008 

  • Contact with juvenile offenders and foster care children 24 hours a day 5 days a week in a wilderness program environment in the Florida Everglades 

  • Leading a mixed group of juvenile delinquents and foster care children with DSM diagnosis through structured daily activities including school work and group therapy. 

  • Conducting problem solving sessions to confront maladaptive behavior when it occurs. 

 

 

EDUCATION 

Florida Psychoanalytic Institute, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. 

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Course Certification, 2015 

 

University of Miami, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. 

M.S.Ed. in Marriage and Family Therapy, 2012 

GPA: 4.0 

 

Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier, France. 

             Institut d’Études Françaises pour Étrangers 

             (Institute of French Studies for Foreigners) 

Winter Semester, 2007  

Earned: Certificat Pratique de la Langue Française (1er degré – Niveau III)  

(Practical French Language Certificate, 1st degree – Level III) 

 

Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.A. 

Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Psychology, 2005 

Minor in French 

Psychology GPA: 3.9, Cumulative GPA: 3.4  

 

TRAININGS AND CERTIFICATIONS COMPLETED 

  • Summer 2005: 211 Big Bend Crisis Counselor Training Course (54 hours) 

  • September 29th 2005: Children’s Functional Assessment Rating Scale Certification 

  • November 30th 2005: Person to Person: Service Planning for Case managers 

  • December 6th 2005: Domestic Violence Training at Henderson Mental Health Center 

  • May 10th 2006: Substance Abuse Training at Henderson Mental Health Center 

  • September 2007: “Catatogas” Outdoor youth counselor training (19 days, 24 hours a day) 

  • January 9th 2009: Children Services Counsel Introduction to CBT training (8 hours) 

  • February 2009: Wraparound Facilitator Certification 

  • June 2014: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist 

  • August 2015: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Course Certification 

 

 

GRADUATE LEVEL RESEARCH EXPERIENCE 

“El Centro” Center of Excellence for Hispanic Health Disparities Research, University of Miami, Miami, FL 

PI: Daniel Santisteban, PhD  

Graduate Assistantship/Study Coordinator, May 2010 – May 2012 

  • The purpose of this research is to test the effectiveness of Culturally Informed Flexible Family Therapy for Adolescents (CIFFTA) compared to treatment as usual 

  • Conducted screening, baseline, and follow up assessments with Hispanic adolescents and their caregivers 

  • Analyzed data using SPSS for monitoring, adherence, and research purposes 

  • Worked closely with Dr. Santisteban on conducting literature reviews, data collection, writing journal articles, and developing ideas for future publications 

  • Second author of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation presentation on implementation science given by Dr. Santisteban at Princeton University in June, 2010 

  • Coordination responsibilities for study: Culturally Informed and Flexible Family based Treatment for Adolescents (CIFFTA): A Randomize Trail, which tests the efficacy of CIFFTA compared to traditional structural family therapy.  

 

The Miami Prenatal Cocaine Study, University of Miami, Miami, FL 

PI: Emmalee Banstra MD 

Graduate Assistantship, June 2009 – May 2010 

  • The purpose of this longitudinal study is to investigate the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure in an African American cohort of approximately 400 

  • Conducted psychosocial interviews with the adolescent participants 

  • Guided participants through the “TRIER” social stress test 

  • Administered computerized psychological measures 

  • Data entry 

  • Cross coded and shipped hair and urine samples 

  • Quality assured caregiver psychosocial interviews 

  • Occasional referral and case management work 

  • Trained new staff to enter data and quality assure psychosocial interviews 

 

 

UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL RESEARCH EXPERIENCE 

The Anxiety and Behavioral Health Clinic, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 

PI: Norman Schmidt PhD 

Directed Individual Study, May 2004 – August 2005 

  • Data collection  

  • Administered surveys to large groups of undergraduate students 

  • Data entry  

  • Quality assured data using SPSS 

  • Conducted literature reviews 

  • Scheduled study participants for appointments   

  • Hypothesis and behavioral measure development 

  • Used Dreamweaver software to computerize behavioral measures 

  • Calibrated and utilized eye tracking equipment 

  • Assisted with several research studies conducted by PhD candidates  

 

Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 

PI: Thomas Joiner PhD 

Directed Individual Study, May 2005 – August 2005 

  • Data analysis using SPSS 

  • Conducted literature reviews 

  • Assisted doctoral candidate with research on depression 

 

Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 

PI: Jon Bailey PhD 

Directed Individual Study, January 2005 – May 2005 

  • Conducted data collection in school for functional analysis 

  • Implemented intervention that included play rewards for sustained attention in class with elementary school students 

  • Research compared stimulant medication for ADHD to placebo 

 

Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 

PI: Roy Baumeister PhD 

Directed Individual Study, August 2004 – December 2004 

  • Guided subjects through the participation process 

  • Videotaped subjects’ reactions to social rejection from confederate and debriefed subjects 

  • Conducted literature reviews 

  • Assisted doctoral candidate with research on social rejection 

 

 

PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS 

  • Co-author and co-presenter: “A scientist-practitioner model applied to a multicultural training program for multilingual therapists in a global society” Presentation at the National Latino/a Psychological Association’s 2010 annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. 

  • Co-author: “Bridging Science and Practice:  Facilitators and Barriers to This Important Work” Presentation at the 2010 Robert Wood Johnson’s New Connections Symposium at Princeton University, New Jersey.  

  • Richey, J.A., Smith, J.D., Oliver, M. Brown, M. Quevedo, J., Botero, N, Chisholm, T.L. & Schmidt, N.B. (2004, Winter). Empirically Validated Therapies - "Myths" and Reality: A Reply to Koocher (2004). Florida Psychologist, 55, 24-25. 

 

 

HONORS 

  • Florence Bayuk Educational Trust Scholarship 

  • Dean’s List  

 

 

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS 

  • Member Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology 

  • Associate Member American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy  

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