Clinical Counselor
Michael Peña, LMSW
Michael Peña joined Taos Behavioral Health in June 2018 as a clinician working with adults only, individually, as couples, or in groups.
Michael spent his early years in Texas, then moved to New Mexico in 1983. Before becoming a clinician, he owned a commercial cleaning service in Ruidoso. In 2003, he turned the business over to his youngest son and enrolled in New Mexico Highlands University to become a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (LADAC). In 2006, he completed a Master of Social Work degree at Highlands.
Michael has worked in a variety of mental health settings, including Life Link in Santa Fe where he worked under the leadership of Dr. Carol Luna-Anderson. There he gained valuable experience with substance abuse intervention and mental health services. Prior to joining TBH, he worked for a year at TriCounty Mental Health Center.
Michael operates from a Gestalt theory base and is comfortable with a variety of treatment models, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI). and intensive outpatient programming (IOP). His years at a Jesuit high school helped form his strong spiritual base.
He now lives on the Rio Hondo in a house with a round meditation room that looks out at the forest. Michael has three adult children and seven grandchildren.
