Maria B. Wiggins, LCSW-S, LCDC, ADS
You probably see different things behind various professionals' names and wonder “What does this all mean?” Well, my credentials are LCSW-S, LCDC, ADS. To me, they represent the hard work that I have put into this field and my dedication to treating trauma from a whole-person perspective. Below, I break down each credential so you can fully understand what it means and how I can help you. My Linked In is also available at the bottom of this page for specific experience listed.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) — I obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as passed 2 national board exams. After passing the first masters-level board exam, I was then clinically supervised for 3,000 hours over a period of 3 years prior to even being approved to sit for my clinical board exam. When I passed my final board exam, I was able to then practice therapy independently.
Supervisor (S) — I am a Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners approved Clinical Supervisor. This means that if someone wants to receive clinical supervision hours towards obtaining their LCSW, I am able to offer this service.
Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC) — I am able to work with those who are suffering from substance use disorders. Although my LCSW legally covered me to work with this population, I opted to further specialize, learn, and sit for this board exam as I see the lengths people will go to avoid unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Especially, when those things have been reinforced from traumatic or adverse life events.
Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist (ADS) — I am able to perform auricular acupuncture. I utilize the NADA protocol, which includes placement of 5 sterilized needles in specific sites on each ear. The NADA protocol serves as an adjunctive treatment to help treat addiction, stress, and trauma. I have been utilizing this technique in collaboration with traditional “talk therapy.” For more information on this treatment, you can visit: https://acudetox.com
Please see below for a complete list of modalities in which I have been trained:
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist Training (ADS)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)
Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide (CAMS)
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Exposure, Relaxation, and Rescripting Therapy (ERRT)
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
I currently use these modalities to treat Anxiety & Trauma Stressor Related Disorders. It is hard to say which treatment modality I use most as I genuinely evaluate each person that comes into my office and what best suits their needs. I have found that treating sleep issues, teaching coping skill sets, and performing auricular acupuncture prior to beginning trauma work while building therapeutic rapport has had the most positive impact for my patients.