Prenatal and postpartum therapists & psychiatrists in Saint Augustine, FL

Hi there, I'm Yanela, a bilingual LMHC with previous experience and a background in art therapy approach as a creative healing process.

I work with children, adolescents, and adults using a mix of evidence-based approaches and creative techniques to support emotional growth.

My clients seek to understand and accept themselves and their life experiences. Together we will explore how your past is impacting your present, so you can ultimately move toward a better future.

I work with individuals, couples and families from an attachment and systems perspective, knowing we experience many wounds through relationships but through the right relationships we can also experience healing.

It is important in my work that I allow the client's cultural context inform my treatment.

There is nothing more profound and sacred than our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing.

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Master’s Level Certified Addiction Professional (MCAP), Certified Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapist (TF-CBT), and Qualified Supervisor (QS) for the state of Florida. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in 1997 from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in the field of Psychology. In 2001, I graduated with Honors from Webster University with my Master’s degree in Counseling.

I started my career in 1995 as a Behavior Specialist, working with children and their families. After 10 years of dedicating my time to this population, I ventured out into the unchartered territory of addiction; specifically substance abuse and eating disorder. Since 2014, when I am not providing therapy locally, I travel as a Military & Family Life Counselor (MFLC); serving our military families on military installations; in the US and abroad. In 2022, I became certified as a Yoga Teacher and Social Emotional Learning Facilitator.

I am licensed in Florida with over 20 years of professional work experience. We all have experiences that have left us feeling unsafe, unloved, lost, confused, helpless, or unwell emotionally. I have experience working with individuals who have suffer with anxiety, trauma responses, mood disorders, parenting, and more. My hope is that I can help everyone build capacity to build good interpersonal skills, personal skills, and self love; thus creating opportunities to manage "yuk" when things do not go as expected or when someone does not feel important.

You are not alone. Life creates our experiences and the lens for which we see things. How we see anything, is how we see everything. Come join me in my office or through teletherapy. We can discover your lens and figure out how to change it's color through skills, perception, and self love. We got this! You got this!