Q & A with Ricardo Berrelez

Mental health effects every aspect of daily life, and the ability to navigate life’s many challenges. Yet despite growing awareness, millions of people around the world continue to struggle in silence due to stigma, lack of resources, or limited access to care. Mental health professionals help reduce stigma while encouraging people to seek support and develop healthier ways of coping. Licensed professionals are equipped with the tools too create opportunities for healing, growth, and most importantly hope while reminding people they do not have to face life’s challenges alone.

Ricardo Berrelez is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Colorado with nearly 20 years of experience working with individuals, couples, teens, and families through a number of conditions that affect people’s day-to-day lives. These are conditions that affect millions of people around the world including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, and personal growth. The list could go on.

Through both counseling and his online platforms, Ricardo focuses on making conversations around mental health and faith that feel accessible to anyone. His work is rooted in a deep commitment to helping people navigate life’s difficulties while building emotional support systems that allow people to move forward with confidence and hope. His YouTube content often centers on practical coping tools, and the ongoing process of learning from life’s experiences.

In several of his teachings, Ricardo also draws from scripture, such as, Proverbs 13:20, James 1:19, and Matthew 7:12 to help guide and further support people. His approach recognizes the connection between mental health and faith, emphasizing a holistic view of healing that supports the entire person.

Within Faith in Craft at The Makers Forge, Ricardo’s perspective reflects the idea that inner work is important because it shapes how people show up, and interact with the world around them. His work emphasizes healing as a continual process of growth, and rebuilding. As you’ll see throughout this conversation, Ricardo views counseling as more than just a profession, he sees it as a calling focused on supporting people through hardship and helping them discover healthier ways to face life’s challenges.

Q: What originally led you into counseling and mental health work? 

A: I grew up with a desire and commitment to assist and support people. My drive to help people increased after my family went through a personal tragedy. This tragedy motivated me to pursue a degree and license in counseling. I view my work as a counselor as a calling. 

Q: Why are emotional resilience, self-awareness, and personal growth conversations important to you?

A: These conversations are important because so many people have suffered from tragedy and life difficulties. It is my desire to work with these individuals through personal growth, to support them with their needs and with direction in their lives. Helping people build emotional resiliency and self-awareness are important steps in overcoming challenges in life.

Q: Through your counseling work and YouTube content, you make mental health conversations feel very grounded and accessible. Why was that important for you to create?

A: My desire to create the YouTube channel with content that also reflects in my counseling work ties into my commitment to serve people who have experienced various forms of hardship. Creating the videos is a great way to make these skills accessible to any viewer, and I also provide these skills through counseling sessions. You can find my YouTube channel under Ricardo Berrelez Counseling LPC.

Q: What does healing actually look like in everyday life beyond the clinical language people usually hear? 

A: Healing is about learning from life experiences and building supports to combat the difficulties and stressors we experience in life. I find that as supports increase, the more equipped a person feels to take on their challenges.

Q: What does the idea of Faith & Craft mean to you personally, and how do you think inner healing affects the way people live, create, and show up in their communities?

A: Faith and craft to me means doing everything to glorify God. “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” – Colossians 3:17

Q: What are some of the biggest emotional struggles you see people carrying right now that often go unseen?  

A: Some of the most common issues I see people struggle with are anxiety, depression and anger, and how these impact relationships and personal growth. People have a desire to improve their situations. Counseling provides a great outlet for this.

Q: How do you approach the connection between faith, emotional healing, and mental health in your work? 

A: I believe that a holistic approach is important to heal from life difficulties and to strengthen core beliefs through wisdom, strength and faith. The connection between behavioral health, mental health and faith-based counseling is important to support people in all aspects of life.