“Dr Patricia Zurita Ona is responsible for working with my teenage son and making it possible for him to comfortably and confidently interact socially or “feel normal” socially (as he recently phrased it). In addition, this preparation has enabled him to thrive out-of-state in his first year of college. Both my son and I agree, that without Dr Zurita’s help, all of this would not have been possible.
I realized that my son needed professional help when we began to travel to an out-of-state university to meet students and staff. During these visits, my son experienced extreme social anxiety episodes that left him feeling helpless and anxious. My son was devastated that an opportunity to attend the college of his choice would not be realized due to his inability to function socially. As a parent, these experiences were an awakening for me as to how serious the situation was.
I am attaching a link to an article that my son sent to me during this experience that describes a similar story of a young man who also experienced social anxiety throughout his life. Reading this article brought me to tears and opened my eyes. I was thankful my son found the article and that this article could articulate his thoughts. The article also gave me hope that perhaps it was not too late to seek professional help. Here is the article my son shared with me –
education.com/reference/…
After reading the article and then contacting several departments of psychology within universities around the nation, I was lead toward Dr Patricia Zurita Ona by the University of California Berkeley.
We met with Dr Zurita for four months prior to the time when my son would need to leave for college. Dr Zurita came up with a plan for one on one and group work for my son. My son met with Dr Zurita, and or Dr Zurita and a group, every week for approximately 20 sessions. I am thrilled to report that together by setting goals, doing one on one work, learning therapy tools and techniques, and by participating in group work – my son was able to leave for and attend the out-of-state university. In addition, he feels liberated from the anxious life he once led and has a sense of ‘normal’ about himself. My son and I text regularly and he is doing great. I asked him recently when we were discussing meeting new groups of friends, if he needed to speak with Dr Zurita, and he replied, “Mom, I have all of the tools to handle this. It’s up to me to use them.”
I am very grateful for finding Dr Zurita. She is responsible for teaching my son skills that have changed his life socially and enabled him to leave home and attend an out-of-state university. This was the dream of a lifetime for him and it would not have been possible without her help. Her guidance has also made it possible for him to live a much richer life, full of experiences he would have never considered, prior to his time meeting with Dr. Zurita.
I encourage parents to start this process much sooner, if they sense their child is having difficulty at a social level. Had I understood what he has been going through all of these years, I would have started the process much earlier, so that his prior social experiences and especially those in school, would have been much fuller.
In addition, Dr Zurita has a convenient online system that enables you to book and reschedule appointments and pay for your sessions. And, my medical insurance reimbursed a large portion of the cost.”