LGBT therapists in Saint Petersburg, FL

Hi, I'm Diana — a bilingual (English/Spanish) Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I work with individuals and families, including older adults, navigating anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD, grief and loss, and life transitions. My background spans schools, foster care, supportive housing for youth, and outpatient mental health across New York and Florida. I know how hard it can be to find a therapist who truly understands your culture, your language, and the pressures you carry — whether that's family expectations, being the one everyone else leans on, health changes, caregiving, or figuring out who you are apart from everyone else's needs. Many of the people I work with are holding it together for everyone around them while quietly running on empty. My goal is to create a space where you can show up exactly as you are and feel understood, in whichever language feels most like home.

Figuring out who you are, and where you fit, can feel overwhelming, especially when you're carrying anxiety, family stress, relationship challenges, or feeling disconnected from yourself. Therapy can be a space where you don't have to have everything figured out.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I work with children, adolescents, adults, and families to create a supportive, affirming environment where people feel safe showing up exactly as they are. Many of the clients I work with are navigating anxiety, identity exploration, family conflict, relationship concerns, stress, or major life transitions. My goal is to help you better understand yourself, build on your strengths, and develop practical tools that support confidence, resilience, and meaningful growth.

I'm a seasoned clinical social worker licensed in New York and Florida who has worked with all ages. I have my Bachelor's degree from Russell Sage College Troy, New York in Sociology and Psychology. I received my Master's degree from The State University of New York at Albany with a focus on individual counseling. I've been a therapist for 16 years.

I specialize in depression, anxiety, PTSD,

obsessive compulsive disorder, addiction, panic attacks, trauma, grief and loss, geriatric issues, stress-related disorders, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia.

I’m a cis-gender heterosexual female. My husband and I have a high school aged son. I’m originally from St. Louis, MO but I have lived in Florida for a combined 36 years because I love living in paradise. One of the things I enjoy about virtual work is seeing my clients’ pets too.

I was a non-traditional student and got my bachelor's degree at 29 and my master's degree at 32. The life skills I gained as I worked my way through school have been helpful throughout my career. For some people, the age of their therapist is important. I am 49 years old.

Some of my helpful qualities include being non-judgmental. I have talked to people of all kinds, many ages with all kinds of histories and all kinds of present lives. There really isn't a topic you can't discuss with me, I have never felt a client gave me "TMI" or too much information. You are guaranteed privacy and confidentiality. You can get judgment for free anywhere else. I believe everyone is doing the best they can with what they know.

I am often told after first sessions that I'm easy to talk to and those clients feel better just having gotten some things off their chest.

I have treated children and teens throughout my career beginning at my first job in foster care.since beginning in I graduated from my masters degree. I have also treated adults with depression, anxiety, grief and loss, PTSD, sexual dysfunction, porn addiction, people in the LGBTQ community & people in alternative lifestyles.

I also treated patients in hospice as well as other medical settings. I treat people with chronic illnesses and occasionally I treat people with life limiting illnesses.

Here at Headway I will treat anyone who is 10 or older because I believe they are best suited for virtual therapy. I'm open to appeals about this policy.

Therapy with me is very human and genuine. I don’t just focus on what’s painful or stuck but help to highlight the ways in which my clients overcome life's punches. While I take this work seriously, I believe laughter can be healing and disarming in therapy.

I earned my Master’s degree in Counselor Education from Florida International University and have worked in a variety of settings, including the foster care system, residential treatment, and community mental health. My background includes supporting individuals navigating trauma, persistent mental health conditions, substance use, eating disorders, and major life transitions. I’ve also worked with veterans, individuals who are unhoused, and LGBTQIA2S+ clients.

In my practice, I work with clients experiencing anxiety, panic, depression, trauma, identity exploration, relationship challenges, and life transitions. I also support clients with PTSD, some OCD presentations, and concerns related to gender, sexuality, and queer identity. My work is trauma-informed, affirming, and rooted in helping clients feel both emotionally safe and genuinely understood.

I'm so happy that you're here!! That means that you're ready to take the next steps in learning more about you and the way you think and behave, which will help you understand and navigate the experiences you are having in your life currently. As your therapist, my role is to help you push past all the noise in your head and quiet it so that you can hear your real voice and help you understand how everything you experienced in your life has an affect on your lifestyle and many of the things that we tend to go through.

Melyse Behavioral & Wellness is a small group practice that empowers, supports and helps clients thrive through their journey. We are a small practice designed to meet the support We have a long history working with kids in the foster care system. I work with clients from various walks of life ages 12 years and older a variety of different emotional difficulties find a way to improve the quality of your relationships with family and friends. You’re taking the first step, and I congratulate you for that because it’s not an easy thing to do.