About Mae

My name is Mae Madge Mendoza Howard, LCSW, RPT.  Licensed Clinical Social Worker, License # 74977 and Registered Play Therapist #T4301.  I am a career changer.  My undergraduate degree is from CSU San Marcos in international business management.  I received my Masters of Social Work Degree from the University of Southern California.  I use this experience to help understand different cultures and communication that may pertain to possible difficulties of my clientele.  I am proficient in Spanish and Tagalog and continue to work to improve on my proficiency. I moved from the Philippines when I was 8  years old and grew up primarily in North San Diego County.

My family and I faced many adversities living in the United States for the first decade of our lives.  I understand the complexity of  immigration, acculturation, and assimilation.  I take this experience within my practice to provide a more empathic and understanding approach towards working with different cultures.  My social work background ranges from counseling domestic violence survivors, advocating against teen dating violence, working inpatient with co-occurring (mental illness & substance use disorders) adults, and seeing children and their families in an inpatient and outpatient setting with a multitude of social, emotional, medical, and behavioral issues.

Today, I continue to live in North County San Diego with my husband, sons, dogs, and chickens.  I love spending my spare time traveling with my family, going on hikes, and doing outdoor sports/activities with my family and friends.    I am involved with different non-profit organizations and continue to work for the local children’s hospital.   I also guest lecture and speak at different organizations with regards to treatment protocols surrounding anxiety, trauma, and behavior management. I am also part of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the San Diego Clinical Director for the A Home Within Program. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you!

Trainings and Certifications:

January 2020- February 2021: Parent Child Interaction Therapy, Within Agency Trainer, WVU Cheryl McNeil, PhD and USD Kristin McCabe, PhD
February 2018: Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Tics, Dr. Douglas Woods
July 2019: Registered Play Therapist, Association of Play Therapy
January 2018-July 2019: Parent Child Interaction Therapy, USD Kristin McCabe, PhD
December 2017-July 2019: Child Parent Psychotherapy-Roster, UCSF’s Chandra Ghosh Ippen, PhD
March 2017: Family Based Therapy and CBT for Eating Disorders, UCSD Eating Disorders Center
June 2016: Child Parent Relationship Therapy, BHETA Academy
January 2016-February 2017: Trauma Focused-CBT Training and Certification, BHETA Academy
May 2015: An Individualized Mental Health Intervention for Children with ASD Certification, CASRC at Rady Children’s Hospital
April 2014: Change Agents Developing Recovery Excellence Member, BHETA Academy
2014- 2019: Play Therapy Certification Courses, UCSD Extension
June 2014: Seeking Safety Training, San Diego Youth Services
April 2013: Brief Therapy, USC San Diego Academic Center
September 2012: Dialectic Behavior Therapy, UCSD Gifford Clinic
February 2012: Teen Dating Violence Training, UPAC San Diego
August 2011: 57.5 Hr Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Intervention Training, Women’s Resource Center
August 2011: Motivational Interviewing, USC San Diego Academic Center