Our Practice

Our Mission

At Mindful Connections Counseling, our mission is to support each client through a mindful, tailored approach to therapy. We focus on pairing each client with the therapist that best meets their needs, and we are committed to continuous growth through consultation, professional development, and, most importantly, listening deeply to your experience.

As a practice and as individual therapists, we are dedicated to cultivating our niche areas of expertise in order to help the communities we are most passionate about and best equipped to help. We honor and value the diverse identities of those who come through our doors, and strive to create a culturally sensitive and inclusive environment where all clients feel seen, respected, and empowered.

Connection, confidence, and meaningful growth begin here.

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Our Services

We are a small group practice dedicated to working with clients of all ages (Really! Ages 3 – 99+). We believe that a trusting relationship between therapist and client is at the heart of meaningful therapy. Our ideal client values the importance of finding the right therapeutic match to create a strong foundation for healing and growth. We specialize in play therapy services, trauma and complex trauma (including attachment disruptions), life transitions, grief and loss, neurodiversity, and school behavioral issues. For more information about our services and specializations, please read below!

For Children & Preteens

CCPT uses play—a child’s natural way of expressing thoughts and feelings—as a tool for healing and growth. In this approach, your child leads the play while the therapist creates a supportive environment, reflects feelings, sets gentle limits when needed, and provides a space for your child to work through emotions at their own pace. CCPT is highly effective and well-researched.

AutPlay Therapy is a neurodiverse-affirming approach for children and teens. Autplay combines play therapy techniques with behavioral and cognitive strategies to support emotional regulation, social skills, and social connection. AutPlay supports parents in reinforcing progress outside of sessions.

EMDR supports children who have experienced difficult or distressing experiences, such as trauma, anxiety, and loss. EMDR, when incorporated into play therapy, involves techniques to help children re-process difficult memories and access adaptive information. Children often go from experiencing negative, maladaptive beliefs (“I am not good enough”) to positive, adaptive beliefs (“I am good enough”).

Polyvagal-Informed play therapy supports children in feeling safe, calm, and connected by helping them understand how their nervous system reacts to stress. Through play, the therapist guides the child in building emotional regulation skills and feeling more in control of their body and emotions. This approach is especially helpful for children who have experienced anxiety, trauma, or big emotions.

Sandtray is a hands-on, creative modality that allows children to use miniature figures and sand to create scenes that reflect their inner world - thoughts, feelings, and experiences that they may not have words for. Through this process, children can explore emotions, resolve inner conflicts, and gain a greater sense of control and insight.

Theraplay (R) is a dyadic approach to working with children and caregivers to strengthen the attachment bond. Using nurturing, structured, and developmentally-appropriate activities, the therapist supports the parent in helping the child feel safe, connected, and confident, while also managing difficult behaviors. TraumaPlay is designed to help children process and heal from traumatic experiences. TraumaPlay incorporates child-centered and directive approaches to support emotional expression, build safety and connection, and strengthen the child’s ability to cope and feel secure.

CBT in play therapy helps children understand and manage their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Through games, storytelling, and creative activities, children learn skills to cope with worries, build confidence, and handle challenges in healthier ways.

ACT in play therapy guides children toward accepting their difficult feelings while staying connected to what matters most to them. Through playful activities, children build emotional flexibility, manage difficulties with mindfulness, and take positive steps toward their goals and values.

For Older Teens & Adults

EMDR is a structured therapy that guides clients in healing from trauma and other distressing life experiences. By using guided eye movements and other types of bilateral stimulation, EMDR assists the brain in reprocessing painful memories, making them feel less intense and preventing them from getting “stuck” in the present.

Our 2 sweet therapy dogs, Teddy and MJ, received extensive training at Texas State University’s Animal Assisted Counseling Academy. Teddy and MJ often participate in sessions, helping clients reduce anxiety, build trust, and foster emotional growth through their gentle and non-judgmental presence.

DBT teaches clients to manage intense emotions, build healthier relationships, and cope with stress in more effective ways through four core skills: mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT is particularly helpful for clients who feel overwhelmed by emotions or struggle with conflict, impulsivity, or self-harm.

Solution-Focused Therapy is a brief, goal-oriented approach that helps clients focus on their strengths and what’s working well in their life. Instead of focusing on problems, clients identify small, realistic steps toward their goals.

Somatic experiencing (SE) is a body-based approach that helps resolve trauma trapped in the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses. The therapist guides clients to gain greater awareness of their sensations, images, behavior, affect, and meaning, fostering a deeper understanding of the body-mind connection and an improved ability to release and discharge trauma.

CBT is a goal-oriented approach that helps clients identify, challenge, and change unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors. Through CBT, clients learn new ways to think and respond to negative thoughts.

Sandtray is a hands-on, creative modality that allows clients to use miniature figures and sand to create scenes that reflect their inner world - thoughts, feelings, and experiences that they may not have words for. Sand tray therapy is particularly helpful for processing emotions and experiences in a safe, symbolic way.

ACT helps clients build a healthier relationship with difficult thoughts and feelings, rather than trying to avoid or control them. By combining mindfulness and values-based action, ACT promotes psychological flexibility and the pursuit of a meaningful life.

The Process

Initial 15-minute phone consultation. We’ll discuss your goals for therapy and determine if we are a good therapeutic match. We’ll also identify who will be present at the intake session.

Intake Session. This session is an opportunity to get to know each other better. We will ask some developmental questions, explore your current symptoms, and collaborate to identify potential goals. We’ll review key aspects of the therapeutic process and answer your questions. Finally, we’ll create a plan for the upcoming sessions to guide your journey forward.

Weekly 45-55 minute sessions. Throughout treatment, we consider:

  • What are our therapeutic goals?
  • What therapy modalities are we using to meet these goals?
  • How can we best involve parents of children and teens?
  • What assessment tools can we use to track progress?
  • Who should we collaborate with (e.g., psychiatrist, teacher, primary care doctor, etc.)?

Termination. We will regularly revisit our goals and treatment plan to determine an appropriate time to decrease the frequency of sessions, and ultimately begin the process of termination.

Our Story

Mindful Connections Counseling was founded in 2021 by Rosalie Piedra, LPC-S, RPT-S™, a former school counselor with a deep passion for mental health and community care. With over a decade in public education, Rosalie saw firsthand how trauma and systemic disparities impact children and families, especially when it comes to accessing quality mental health support. What began as a solo practice in 2020 quickly evolved into a larger vision: to create a therapy space in South Austin that feels safe, inclusive, and truly healing. Rosalie has always been an advocate for therapy—sharing its power with friends, family, and colleagues—and continues that mission by building a practice that supports not just clients, but therapists, too. At Mindful Connections, we aim to our goals is to normalize therapy, break down barriers, and cultivate spaces where true healing can occur.

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