About M.J. Waldrip, Ph.D., M.A., LPCC, CGC

I am a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in the State of New Mexico since June 2017. I strongly believe in doing the personal transformation work from either side of the therapy room, and as such I bring over 18 years’ experience doing my own depth work to my counseling practice. I earned a Masters of Arts in Counseling from Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico with a Certificate in Transformational Ecotherapy in May, 2017. I also have about 1,000 hours experience as a participant in psychodrama and I incorporate psychodramatic elements as appropriate into our therapy in service of healing.

I think my life purpose is to facilitate the healing of our relationship with Mother Earth through the healing of our relationships with ourselves and with each other. I love working with adults, adolescents, couples, families and children to support a return to inner and outer balance and harmony. Working experientially as well as through traditional talk therapy, one goal is to support clients to develop a skills set for navigating difficult emotions and conflict in a healthy, respectful, compassionate, and productive manner– in other words, to develop and hone skills that will serve you long after our therapeutic relationship has ended.

Early in my counseling career I worked for the Eating Disorders Treatment Center in Albuquerque and at Tierra Nueva Counseling Center in Santa Fe for over a year. I found that I love to work with survivors of abuse, neglect, and relational trauma, as well as those struggling with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and addiction. I spent a year in the Albuquerque Public Schools in the South Valley working with children ages 7-18 in school and office settings to resolve trauma and attention difficulties. I also enjoy working with folks who are interested in furthering their personal, professional, spiritual, and/or relationship development.

Before becoming a psychotherapist, I earned a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida and spent about 20 years working as a scientist, innovator and engineer at government, academic and private laboratories. I pioneered the industrial applications of an electrochemical reduction of nitrogen reaction, including inventing a novel crystal growth technique and co-inventing a novel air-breathing battery chemistry along with several other applications important for industry and environmental nuclear waste remediation. I hold several patents. I championed research and development of bulk energy storage for the purpose of improving the incorporation of renewable energy sources onto the electrical utility grid at the national and international levels of government, academia, and industry.

While I found this approach to healing the relationship between humans and our environment through technology development both rewarding and frustrating, my soul relentlessly called me into a different form of service. I love to be in and work in Nature, and I have found that sacred ceremony and Nature are vastly more powerful facilitators of healing than I could ever be. I eagerly support the creation of opportunities for clients who are so inclined to develop this kind of relationship with Mother Earth– but it is, of course, not a requirement in our work– I respect your path for your life.

I live in Santa Fe with her three precious, spoiled rotten dogs who deserve every bit of spoiling they can get in their short, beautiful, and highly impactful lives. I am licensed under my birth name, Karen Waldrip, New Mexico License Number CCMH0217641.