Dr. Richard Taborga

Dr. Mauricio Richard Taborga, Psy.D
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Nationally Certified Counselor
Qualified Supervisor

Dr. Richard is the founder and Clinical Director of South Florida Counseling and Assessment and a licensed psychotherapist with over 15 years of experience. He specializes in the treatment of individuals across the life span, couples, and families experiencing a wide-range of difficulties. His warm, passionate, friendly, and patient approach is aimed at developing a therapeutic alliance with his clients that will inspire hope, help them recognize their strengths and to develop the insight and skills to navigate life's challenges.

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Approach to Psychotherapy

With an understanding and appreciation for the uniqueness of each individual, Dr. Richard recognizes that no single approach is right for everyone and strives to integrate a variety of therapeutic orientations and interventions in understanding and helping clients.

His experience and training includes approaches based in:

  • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies (CBT)
  • Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment interventions
  • Psychodynamic
  • Solution-Focused
  • Reality Therapy
  • Family Systems
  • Behavioral Interventions and Play Therapies
  • Positive Psychology

These approaches provide the basis for helping clients to bring the unconscious scripts into conscious awareness, understand the influence of unhealthy thinking on distressful emotions and behaviors, and develop insight and change that will produce joy, fulfillment, and love in the client’s life and relationships.

Work With Adults

A group of people standing next to each other.

In his words, “The courageous decision to attend therapy can be a scary and overwhelming experience. This is why I considers it an honor to have a client allow me to join them during a difficult moment in their journey through life.” Dr. Richard employs a collaborative approach when serving his clients, respecting each person’s unique history, personality, cultural characteristics, and strengths.

For him, the most important aspect of therapy is the relationship between the client and the therapist. So, he urges clients to search until they find an authentic, respectful, compassionate, and knowledgeable therapist. These qualities create a safe and nurturing environment, allowing the patient to develop an increased sense of self-awareness, meaning, and a deeper connection to all aspects of life.

Working With Children and Families

Dr. Taborga’s early work focused on the treatment of children suffering from various behavioral difficulties, trauma, depressions, as well as anxieties in partial-hospitalization and outpatient settings. Throughout his career, his passion for working with children and families has led him to develop his skills in this area and share his knowledge through various workshops. His approach is comprehensive, involving all family members at different phases of treatment.

A group of people walking through the woods holding hands.

Sessions With Children

During individual sessions with children, his playful and patient nature creates a warm and nurturing environment for children to develop the skills to manage distressful emotions and self-control techniques through play, art, stories, and the unique individual strengths that each child possesses.

Sessions With Parents

Meetings with parents are psychoeducational and focus on further developing parenting skills, empowering parents, and transferring skills into the home. Parent meetings are also a chance to practice skills in session with coaching from Dr. Richard and/or to have him model parenting skills discussed.

Sessions With Children

During individual sessions with children, his playful and patient nature creates a warm and nurturing environment for children to develop the skills to manage distressful emotions and self-control techniques through play, art, stories, and the unique individual strengths that each child possesses.

Sessions With Parents

Meetings with parents are psychoeducational and focus on further developing parenting skills, empowering parents, and transferring skills into the home. Parent meetings are also a chance to practice skills in session with coaching from Dr. Richard and/or to have him model parenting skills discussed.

A man and woman holding hands on the beach.

Work With Couples

According to relationship and marriage expert Dr. John Gottman, couples wait an average of six years of being unhappy before getting help. That’s an awfully long time to feel unheard, misunderstood, lonely, disappointed, discouraged, as well as helpless. These relationship dynamics may develop into resentment and bring about the worst in any person. When working with couples, I realize that they have been suffering for a long time before making the courageous decision to seek help. So, I want to ensure that they feel validated in their experience and find hope in the therapeutic process.

Our journey together often begins by establishing boundaries and creating a safe and nurturing environment that is conducive to the development of interpersonal skills, sharing of emotions and experiences, and having their needs met by their partner in a healthy manner. I hope that this safe space that we create will eventually extend to outside of the office, once they see the effectiveness of their effort.

Read Dr. Richard’s entire blog related to Couples Counseling at

Changing Together: Relationship and Marriage Counseling

Workshops Facilitated

Dr. Taborga has facilitated various workshops for clinicians and clients related to:

  • Dream Work in Modern Psychotherapy
  • A Comprehensive Approach to Working With Children and Families
  • Parenting Strategies for Child Behavioral Difficulties
  • Eating Disorders in Adolescents
  • Supervising Employees Diagnosed with Autism
  • Empowering Teachers - addressing difficult behaviors in the classroom
  • Stress Management
  • Developing Positive Self-Esteem

Recently Featured

Dr. Richard was recently recognized for his achievement as a therapist and business owner on:

  • Shoutout Miami
  • Voyage MIA Magazine