Meet Federico Poloni | Marriage and Family Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Federico Poloni and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Federico, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
One of the first thoughts was: “are you sure?”. The idea of starting my own business would not have come from inside of me, and at a certain time it hadn’t. Through conversations with trusted friends and mentors, I realized that my voice and my vision had value in itself, and value that other’s would appreciate as well. My loved ones were spurring me on and I decided to bet on myself. When the door was opened within my mindset to start my own business it was very empowering and freeing. I let myself dream and cast out a vision for becoming a stronghold within the community support system that helps families, individuals, and children access abundance. I think many of us are used to the abundance of pain, setbacks, conflict, chaos, and the myriad of emotions we dislike. While you wont escape those things, you can also embrace the abundance of joy, confidence, comfort, peace, and truth that will open opportunities. That’s where the name came from, Embrace.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My business, in more than just one way, is relationships. It has been through valuing people for who they are, noticing their strengths, and filling the gap in what’s missing for them, that I have nurtured a space for belonging and for growth. My work started slow and I had to create a name for myself. But through taking care of people, using evidence based approaches to achieve goals, and through collaboration I have earned respect in my community and built up a strong reputation. I have had a few roadblocks along the way, prejudices, and mean looks, but have been blessed with great relationships and a strong network.
Someone once scared with me how they perceived me as “a Robot maker”. I came up with the intricate designs, put the pieces together, and then passed them along to someone else to put on the batteries and get them to action. I very much align with their interpretation. I love to dream up new ideas, to simplify procedures, or cut out excess busywork. But I need a team, I need others who will help “plug in the batteries”, to move the ideas into action and help them be fruitful in the space they were created for. While I am currently a solopreneur I am getting ready to start a professional family that wants to share the vision of healing and change that I have been given for our community.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many fun things to do if you have not been to Phoenix, or Arizona before. Some of the bigger ticket items would have to include the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Flagstaff. There is so much outdoor time to be had, great hiking, watering holes, and opportunities for adventure. I enjoy Piestewa Peak and the Dreamy Draw mountains, so depending on the season we would enjoy hiking and beautiful views of the valley. We’d go out to eat, likely a few Mexican spots around town, but I’d also want to get Ramen and drinks at Jinya. I am a sucker for the zoo, so I’d take them to the Phoenix Zoo as well.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
So many people deserve a shout out! My wife has been a huge source of encouragement and support. She has always trusted in my abilities and my goodness. She has been a solid partner in life, she has given me space to dream, and pushed me when I was cutting myself short. She is a wonderful professional herself, an Occupational Therapist for the Nadaburg School District, and deeply cares for others.

My parents deserve credit for being the models of risk taking and working hard. They immigrated into the states when I was twelve and although we were all undocumented, they worked extremely hard to provide opportunities. They were my models of becoming uncomfortable for the sake of others, while also seeking better for themselves unapologetically.

I have a high school teacher that really transformed the way I viewed life and set me off in a different path. His name is Ben Vega and still teaches at Apollo High School in Glendale, Az. It was through his relational approach that I also got involved in helping others. Because of him, I was a high school teacher for a decade before deciding that I needed better tools to help students break generational chains and went into therapy as a profession.

Tim Cleary was the first person who championed me professionally. He hired me to work at a non-profit called Elevate Phoenix where he had seen undocumented students mourning their education opportunities and leveraged his relationships to give them financial assistance. The man has an incredible heart and courage to speak about things others want to shove under the rug.

Lastly, even though there are more, recently I have been enjoying tapping into the entrapeneural part of my brain and Donald Miller and Dan Martell have been a great source of understanding, development, and passion to grow something that helps others and that I can be proud of.

Website: https://www.embracefamilytherapyaz.com

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/embrace-family-therapy-phoenix