Dr. Maria Flores-Sperling, Ph.D., CAC-II is a dynamic force, hailing originally from Springfield, Massachusetts but now calling the vibrant Atlanta Metro area home. With a Masters Degree in General Psychology and a Ph.D. in Christian Counseling, Maria’s credentials are as impressive as her passion for making a difference in the world. As a board-certified Addiction Counselor and consultant for STAND Incorporated, she has spent over 15 years facilitating transformative Family Violence Intervention groups for both men and women. Fluent in both Spanish and English, Maria’s multicultural expertise is enriched by her quarter-century of experience in Human Services. She is also a published author. Her remarkable memoir, “Whose Little Girl is this?” bears witness to her resilience. A survivor of domestic violence herself, Maria has graced TV screens as shines a light on domestic violence, trauma, and anger management all while touching lives and inspiring change wherever she goes.
Q: So it’s Hispanic Heritage Month. What does that mean to you?
A: My heritage is Hispanic, not Latino. If I have anything to be proud of, that’s definitely part of it. I’m proud because the government loves to change our identities.
Q: Because of your harrowing life story, I’m sure that you’ve become an inspiration to a lot of other people, but who are people in your life that you most admire?
A: My best friend actually, I admire her a lot. Sometimes you can impact a person and not even say anything to them. She’s a single woman fro the island of St .Thomas. She used to be my co-worker and I would watch her. I had two kids and she didn’t and I would ask myself, how does she do it? She you works. She hangs out. She goes to events. She goes to the museums, and she’s a happy single woman. She’s not feeling less than because she doesn’t have a man on her arm. So I tell her, “you inspired me. I would watch you and think that’s what a woman does. You don’t need a man, to be happy.”
Q: I know that you suffer with health issues from having M.S., how do you stay balanced?
A: Well that’s pretty hard. When I’m at home, and when my husband’s at work, I either watch movies (I watch a lot of monkeys, like chimpanzee documentaries), and I like to do creative things. I make T-shirts and wreaths. I make a lot of vases with a lot of flowers. I make things to keep my mind off of my illness and then I give it away. What I’ve been doing lately is giving my family Christmas gifts. That is more rewarding than spending my money and then having them push it to the side. My husband is also pretty good at supporting me in anything that I do.
Q: What is your biggest dream or aspiration in your life?
A: Most of the dreams that I had came true. So it would be now to get healed. I’m pretty satisfied with my life the way it is. I don’t have any really big dreams or anything other than my health.
Q: What is a piece of advice to other people or any words of wisdom that you have?
A: I would mostly speak to women…young women. I have a lot of granddaughters and young girls that I see and I wish they would just put themselves first. Most of the women I’m talking about are from my culture. I worked and I struggled real hard. I went to school and then trade school; like four of them. I went because I wanted to find out what I wanted to do. I did not want to work at a hotel cleaning. I struggled a lot to go to school, but they haven’t. If they don’t push themselves, then they’re not going to do anything.
To stay connected with Dr. Maria Flores-Sperling:
LinkedIn: Maria Sperling, Ph.D.
