Meet Esmeralda Murga | LMFT and Owner of Quetzal Marriage & Family Counseling

We had the good fortune of connecting with Esmeralda Murga and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Esmeralda, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The idea of starting my business came from a desire to see myself represented in the field of mental health, specifically in private practice. During my masters program, private practice was almost never mentioned and practically all of the internships offered were at nonprofit and community mental health clinics. So when graduating, many therapists go directly into the nonprofit sector. Although working in community mental health is a great way to learn skills quickly, I feel that there is a need to see more Latinas in private practice and as business owners. My private practice was also born out of a need to create a space that felt welcoming to people of historically marginalized communities who may be uncertain about seeking out mental health services. My philosophy is that therapy is only helpful if clients feel safe enough to show up authentically. The best way I knew how to do that for my clients was to run my own practice.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
When my business was still in the planning phase, my husband (who has a degree in business) kept asking me “What is your brand? What are you about?”. I had such a hard time answering this question because clinical therapists are not trained to think of ourselves as a business. But my husband kept at it, “What’s your brand? You don’t have a business without a brand”. I finally said ” My brand is a tired and messy working mom. My brand is mom buns and perpetually running late”. I am now almost 3 years into my business and I would say my previous statement still stands. Building a business is messy, especially when coupled with the responsibility of raising a family. I am learning new things daily. I’ve learned to ask for help and be ok with some failure. Last summer, as I was scaling up my business, demand grew too fast for the resources I had. I had to pause, reevaluate, and scale back. I beat myself up for it initially, but then I realized that scaling back was a saving grace, not a sign of failure. I want people to know that owning a business is hard, but it’s doable. It’s never perfect and it’s never the glamorized version of hustle culture we see on social media. But just because it’s challenging doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Any time a guest is coming to LA means an automatic Disneyland trip! It’s cliche, but a must. I’m talking mouse ears, pictures with the characters, and trying all the Disney eats. People think of SoCal/LA and automatically think of Hollywood, but I think of nature. For me that means we’re hitting up the LA County Arboretum. The Arboretum is one of my favorite places to take a walk, have a picnic, and admire the resident peacocks. I have to admit, I have no idea where to find the trendy food spots cause I’m a very typical mom that doesn’t go out much. But I can tell you that the best tacos come from trucks and street vendors. Come to Whittier and you’ll find the streets filled with them. You know the good ones by the line of people waiting for their turn to order tacos al pastor cut straight from the trompo. If it’s Asian food you want, then we have to hit up San Gabriel Valley. Pupusas? One of my favorite spots when I worked in Echo Park was Los Molcajetes. You have to try their platanos fritos (fried plantains) too. I’m chapina, so of course we have to try some Guatemalan cuisine! My family’s go to spot is the Guatemalteca Bakery in East LA. Finally, I’m a Whittier local, so when my husband and I are going out we are hitting up Uptown Whittier. There we will likely end up at Whittier Brewing Co., cooling off with some beers and stuffing our face with vegan Mexican food from CenaVegan.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This shoutout is dedicated to my parents, who although had established careers in their homeland of Guatemala, immigrated to the United States and started from scratch. They are also licensed therapists and are my inspiration. Also to my husband Gregory and our 3 girls who provide me with all the support I need to keep my business going.

Website: https://www.quetzalcounseling.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quetzalcounseling/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@quetzalcounseling

Image Credits
Make Up/Hair: Leslie Castillo Photos: Marcy Flores