Hello, I'm Cristina Mazzeo!

When I was teenager, my world collapsed. After age 4, my natural father "disappeared" from my life. Like most children, I created a narrative in my head about the great person he must be and the things we’d do one day once we reconnected. 

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Flash-forward to my later teens when I learned shocking news. My father was serving a life sentence in prison for rape and murder – making me the child of a rapist and murderer. After absorbing my new facts, I questioned my every story, belief and narrative. In a flash, I saw my new truth as inferior and substantially limited based on my father’s choices and how others may view me because of him – and how that would affect my life.

I didn’t know a lot about myself at that age, but I had a grasp of how damaging labels were. Growing up in one low-income location after another, with an addicted stepparent, had already thrust me headlong into the labeling game. Labels are either a box you allow others to place you into (as they see fit) or a box you hide yourself in (based on the way you see yourself). In my pursuit of wellness, I sought therapy to help me understand the situation with my natural father situation better. I became part of yet another labeling machine – as someone in therapy, with a potential "diagnosis."

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Fortunately, I found a mental health professional who saw me for “me” – and my broken pieces as “beautifully broken chapters in my book of life.” Through the work, and the dark time of embracing each piece, my perception of myself and my life changed. I immediately knew this was my life path – to do the same for others: to help them see all of their pieces and chapters, and learn to love them. My goal, moving forward from that point, became focused on learning ways to help others abandon their toxic narratives and stories to understand the differences between their facts and truth.  

While I feel blessed to be in this vocation, you already know that I've had to succumb to the labeling game – via diagnosis. In congruence with the current “sick model,” which is what insurance companies use, a mental health clinician must provide clients with diagnostic labels. My most heartbreaking experiences have been when I witness clients view themselves as “broken” and ill, rather than empowered and capable. You see, diagnosis alone can become a controlling status that keeps someone stuck longer – to create a cycle of self-fulfilling prophecies.  

The idea that clients potentially can’t fully recognize their internal perfection and grace, along their journey to healing, is the most difficult pill to swallow for me as a helping professional. Yet, I want the world to be a better place because I was here, so this is my life’s work. My superpower is “seeing into people” – trusting my intuition, understanding the unique energy each client brings and finding their buried skills. I’m not afraid to push a bit harder, listen a bit more or challenge their inner voices when it’s the best medicine.

Because I’m so passionate about my mission, I’ve incorporated empowerment coaching for young adults and business owners, and training programs as additional services within my practice. I want to challenge clients mentally and emotionally, while also tapping into the internal resources necessary for their healing process, minus any labels.