Vanessa is an enthusiastic Registered Clinical Social Work Intern with a focus on counseling and assisting clients to achieve their goals.

While working at the Refuge House Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center she realized her passion for working with adult and children survivors of abuse and trauma.

She is passionate about helping individuals create a positive change in their lives. She is committed to listening, learning and assisting clients to achieving their goals.

She has a genuine desire to help individuals navigate challenges and achieve emotional well-being. She is dedicated to creating a safe, nonjudgmental space where clients can openly express themselves.

Vanessa Bain received her Bachelors degree in Social Work From Thomas University and her Masters in Social Work from Florida State University.

Vanessa is an enthusiastic Registered Clinical Social Work Intern with a focus on counseling and ... Read More

Flor (she/her) is a recent graduate at the University of Florida with an M.Ed. / Ed.S. degree in Mental Health Counseling. Flor believes in the innate capacity for growth and change within every individual. Life often presents us with challenges and overwhelming emotions that may require support from a counselor. Flor feels deeply honored to walk alongside clients on their journey, helping to enhance well-being, promote healing, and cultivate self-acceptance. Flor is passionate about working with marginalized populations, including people of color, Spanish-speakers, and the LGBTQ+ community. She approaches counseling through an intersectional and multicultural lens, honoring the unique identities and experiences of each individual. Flor is committed to supporting clients of all ages, creating a safe and welcoming space for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults to explore and grow. Flor’s clinical practice is guided through working from a narrative therapy, play therapy, and a person-centered approach. With this approach she helps her clients reconstruct problematic stories they are telling, to create a new story in their lives. Flor always tries to keep the client at the center of her practice allowing them to gain empowerment through the process. When working with children, Flor tends to lean towards child-led, non-directive, play therapy. In her free time, Flor enjoys playing roller derby, watching reality TV, and relaxing with her two beloved cats, Rain and Salem.

Flor (she/her) is a recent graduate at the University of Florida with an M.Ed. / Ed.S. degree in ... Read More

I work with clients of all ages in processing complex trauma and exploring one’s identity. Whether you’re struggling with life transitions, navigating your gender or sexuality, or simply looking to gain some self-insight, it’s my privilege to create a mutual space with you in which you are actively respected and heard.

Part of my current practice includes raising awareness to the ways in which inequality at a systemic level intersects with personal identity, values, traumas, relationships, and our ability to cope.

I believe that in order to heal, we must first allow ourselves to fully feel in a safe and supportive environment. In doing so, you can give voice to the unspoken and rediscover your power. I include experiential, somatic, hands-on methods within our work together to help process difficult emotions from a new lens.

Much of my previous work has included adolescents and young adults working through sexual trauma, PTSD, ADHD, Bipolar, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Anxiety, and Depression.

Some modalities I include within my counseling practice are:

Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Child-centered Play Therapy (CCPT) Level 1 Gottman Internal Family Systems (IFS) and parts work Polyvagal theory

I see community support as integral to our ability to build the foundations of self-love, growth, and healing. To build community, we need to learn to recognize and actively cultivate relationships that are based in mutual respect and fondness.

Together, we can pave the foundation for discovering healthier coping mechanisms for you rooted in awareness and self-love rather than shame.

I work with clients of all ages in processing complex trauma and exploring one’s identity. Whethe... Read More

One of the greatest joys I have in life is the privilege of walking beside clients on their journey to healing and wellness. I work hard to provide clients with a safe and comfortable space where they can address the issues of importance to them. I view myself as a fellow traveler whose role it is to collaboratively create a map to get clients where they desire to go. No two clients are the same, and no two maps are the same. Each experience with clients is new and deserves a fresh approach which is based on your needs, not mine. I work hard to get to know you, your story, your goals, your strengths, and your growing edges. I hope each and every client leaves the session feeling heard, valued, and respected.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist I work with individuals, couples, and families from a systemic point of view. I work with clients to figure out where the various puzzle pieces fit inside their lives and relationships. I have earned a Masters and PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy, and along the way have taken extra training in a variety of areas.

Clients come to me to work on issues of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, anger management concerns, recovering from sexual assault/sexual abuse, and for exploring issues of sexual identity or sexuality issues. I am comfortable working with individuals, couples, and entire families — and I am comfortable working with adolescents and adults. I am in-network with several insurance panels.

In working with couples, I primarily utilize the Gottman Method Couples Therapy. This approach to therapy is one of the most well researched and effective approaches to helping couples resolve issues, increase connection, improve communication, and gain a better understanding of how relationships work.

When I am not in the office, you can usually find me hanging out at home, tending the garden, collecting eggs from the chickens, caring for our goats, harassing our dogs and cats, or harassing my very patient wife and very tolerant adult children. I sometimes get to play golf (and sadly lose A LOT of balls). And I enjoy working with various local groups such as the Human Rights Coalition of Alachua County, the Human Rights Council, the PRIDE Center, and working to help make our community a safe place for all people.

Licensed in or able to provide telehealth services in the following states: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia

ONLY ACCEPTING CLIENTS LOOKING FOR COUPLES COUNSELING OR INDIVIDUALS WITH SEX RELATED ISSUES

One of the greatest joys I have in life is the privilege of walking beside clients on their journ... Read More

Shalisa (she/her) is a Registered Mental Health Counseling Intern. Her philosophy on therapy is that you must be willing to do the work of the past in order to tend with that of the present and prepare for the future.

She loves incorporating storytelling into her sessions whether that’s through expressive arts or fiction writing/poetry/journaling. She enjoys creative expression in all forms, but she understands that that is not for everybody so she works to get to know you as a human first client second.

Change happens when you’re honest with yourself that something needs to move. It doesn’t happen overnight but it does require trust in yourself, to begin with. Change can be as little or as big as you want, but sustainable change is that which takes little moments and small doses of hard work to push the sheer force of an abominable snowman. That is to say, it takes time. Shalisa takes a humanistic, person-centered integrative approach to therapeutic models and doesn’t believe in pushing you too hard when you’re not ready as she also believes that when the client is ready, the client is ready. But if you decide to sit across from her, in the therapy chair, be prepared to be challenged and to sit with your emotions because change does not happen without effort.

When Shalisa is not with you, she is either reading or writing fiction novels.

Bring what you need into the space.

“No one is healed in isolation.” – bell hooks

Shalisa (she/her) is a Registered Mental Health Counseling Intern. Her philosophy on therapy is t... Read More

I’m Eryan Johnson (they/them), a queer therapist who is deeply committed to creating a space where you can take a breath, slow down, and reconnect with the parts of yourself you’ve had to protect for far too long. I know how exhausting it can feel to move through the world while navigating identity, relationships, trauma, or the pressure to “have it all figured out.” Many of us learn to mask, to perform, to blend in, and in the process, we drift away from our own inner wisdom.

My work is grounded in Internal Family Systems and relational therapy, approaches that help us understand the internal protectors, critics, and longing parts that shape our daily lives. Rather than pushing those parts away, we get curious about them. We honor what they’ve been trying to do for you. And slowly, gently, we make space for the more vulnerable, authentic self within you to come forward.

I specialize in supporting young adults, queer and questioning folks, neurodivergent individuals, and people in non-traditional or polyamorous relationship systems. The clients I work with often carry anxiety, depression, identity confusion, relational strain, or the weight of trauma. They’re looking not just for coping skills, but for a deeper understanding of themselves, who they’ve been, who they are now, and who they’re becoming.

In our work together, you can expect warmth, affirmation, and thoughtful collaboration. I value culture, identity, and the lived realities of navigating oppressive systems. I also value the small moments of relief and clarity that happen when someone feels truly seen. My goal is to help you access more of those moments, more often. I believe healing isn’t about “fixing” what’s wrong with you; it’s about making more room for who you really are. When you feel safe enough to bring your whole self into the room, growth unfolds naturally. My role is to walk alongside you as you reconnect with your inner steadiness, power, and sense of belonging. If you’re ready to explore this work, I’d be honored to be part of your journey.

I’m Eryan Johnson (they/them), a queer therapist who is deeply committed to creating a space wher... Read More

I use ki / kin pronouns as an acknowledgment of my animistic framework and my relationship to the interconnected living world. I am a licensed mental health counselor who advocates for social and cosmic justice. I am also a mother and community member. I bring my full humanity into this work, alongside training, discernment, and deep respect for each person’s path.

I work with adults and couples who are navigating life transitions, relational challenges, and moments when something essential is asking to change. Many people come to therapy feeling unmoored or tired of repeating familiar patterns. Therapy can become a place to slow down, tell the truth, and begin choosing oneself more fully. Over time, the therapeutic process can illuminate where people may have abandoned their own truth and support them in reconnecting with the understanding that they matter and are worthy.

Much of my work centers on grief, including death, divorce, aging, identity shifts, changes in role or relationship, and the loss of imagined futures. I do not see grief as something to “get over,” but as a natural human process that, when tended with care, can open space for meaning, clarity, and renewed agency. Grief is often a doorway—an entry point into deeper truth, reorientation, and choice. In couples work, grief frequently shows up relationally as unmet longings, ruptures, or changes in shared identity, and I help partners slow down, listen differently, and make sense of what is happening between them.

My therapeutic approach is relational and includes body-centered awareness, nervous system regulation, and present-moment attunement. My work is informed by study and participation in Compassionate Inquiry, developed by Dr. Gabor Maté, with its emphasis on trauma, embodiment, and compassionate self-inquiry. My therapeutic framework is multi-faceted, with an orientation toward integrating body, mind, and spirit. I am a Reiki Master and Level II Biomagnetism practitioner. While my psychotherapy practice is grounded in clinical care, this background supports a nuanced sensitivity to how stress, trauma, and emotion are held in the body.

I work from a grounded, present-centered lens that recognizes how personal suffering is shaped not only by individual experience, but also by broader systemic and cultural forces. I have extensive experience supporting LGBTQIA+ individuals and offer an affirming, respectful space to explore identity, relationships, belonging, and change. I work with clients across a wide range of sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions, and I strive to offer a socially aware, inclusive space that acknowledges widespread systemic wounding while honoring each person’s lived experience and resilience. My style is collaborative, direct, and attuned, with sensitivity to each client’s pace and capacity.

I am wholeheartedly committed to this work and approach each person’s story with humility and respect as they explore change, loss, and growth—often resulting in a greater sense of liberation and self-trust. I see myself as a work in progress, continually shaped by my own lived experience. Honoring my rhythms and continually cultivating meaning allows me to offer that presence back to my clients. As Ram Dass wrote, we are all just walking each other home.

Outside of the therapy room, I find grounding and renewal through time in nature—wandering in the forest, swimming in the ocean, cooking, making art, and sharing traditions and everyday life with my teenage daughter. I continue to study astrology and anthroposophy as reflective frameworks that deepen my relationship to meaning, rhythm, and the cycles of life.

I use ki / kin pronouns as an acknowledgment of my animistic framework and my relationship to the... Read More

Many of us find ourselves stuck in old patterns, creating unnecessary pain for ourselves and others. While these patterns can be labeled as illnesses or disorders, they are often learned responses to harmful environments, relationships, trauma, and oppression. Together, we can work through these patterns by creating a non-judgmental atmosphere of trust, safety, and honesty. We’ll explore what role these patterns have played in your life and decide which to keep and which to let go.

In our therapy relationship, you can expect to feel accepted and free to be yourself, while being challenged to look deeply into the parts of yourself you might find painful or hard to accept. This process helps you to know yourself more fully, reclaim your capacity to feel deeply, engage honestly in relationships, and create a life you want to live.

I started this work by volunteering on the crisis hotline at the Alachua County Crisis Center, where I was trained using a person-centered model: I see you as a person first, not just a set of symptoms. I earned my B.S. and Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from UF, and during that time, I also worked as an intern therapist at the Crisis Center, helping clients with a wide range of identities and issues. My focus since then has been on individuals with trauma, personality and mood disorders, and those who simply feel out of touch with themselves and others or let down by life.

My approach to therapy is experiential, meaning we won’t just talk about feelings and patterns, but will process and integrate them by engaging with them directly in the present. Healing comes not through intellectualizing, but by allowing our bodies to complete their natural emotional processes. This looks different for everyone, but can include expressive arts, movement, breathwork, and experimenting with new behaviors to break up our familiar, limiting patterns and beliefs. If we want things to be different, we have to do things other than what we’ve been doing.

I’m influenced by somatic therapies, Gestalt, DBT, Internal Family Systems (“parts work”), Relational-Cultural Therapy, mindfulness/contemplative practices, and attachment theory. My approach is trauma-informed, LGBTQIA+/poly/kink affirmative, and social justice oriented. I also support those with diverse and/or marginalized religious and spiritual practices and experiences.

Specific modalities I have training in include:

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Somatic Attachment Therapy Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 1 Before becoming a therapist, I’ve been a transcriptionist, a lab technician, a delivery driver, a freelance musician, a bartender, and a line cook. Outside of work, I enjoy listening to and playing music, spending time outdoors, practicing yoga, cooking, reading obscure books, spoiling my cat, and loving my friends and family.

Please feel free to reach out, and I wish you all the best!

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Many of us find ourselves stuck in old patterns, creating unnecessary pain for ourselves and othe... Read More

Melissa Rider (she/her) earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida in 2019 and her Master of Social Work from Louisiana State University in 2023. She completed her social work internship at Pace Center for Girls where she provided trauma-informed counseling services to students ages 12 to 18, and then worked with children, adolescents, and their families at a community mental health agency for nearly three years. Prior to pursuing her social work education, Melissa worked for 10 years as a licensed hair stylist, during which time she honed her active listening skills and mentored newly graduated cosmetologists.

Melissa is trained in the following therapeutic modalities: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing (MI), solution-focused counseling, the transtheoretical model of change, and Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT). She has experience working with clients on ADHD, ASD, OCD, ODD, and RAD challenges. Melissa is always eager to learn new methods of practice and looks forward to expanding the ways in which she can help clients increase their coping skills and quality of life. She approaches each therapeutic interaction with a person-centered, person-in-environment lens in order to provide the individualized and judgement-free counseling services every client deserves.

In her free time Melissa enjoys reading everything in front of her, adding to Wordle streaks with her 20-year-old son, napping with one of her three cats, and learning Japanese with her partner of 16 years. She also loves getting

Melissa Rider (she/her) earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida... Read More

Gina Romblad received Bachelor’s degrees in Social Work and Classical Voice with a minor in technical theatre at Western Connecticut State University in 2009. She then completed her Master of Social Work from the University of Connecticut in 2014, specializing in adult casework. She moved from Connecticut to Florida in June of 2014 to live with her husband after dating long-distance for over a year. She became interested in working with clients with addiction, anger management and various other mental health challenges through outpatient internships and worked in a direct-care and Assistant Manager role for adults with acquired brain injuries while in her master’s program. She worked at Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. from 2014 to 2022, working primarily in the areas of familial DCF/PSF involvement, anger management, addiction and mental health.

Gina is passionate about helping others reach their mental health and addiction goals, live a healthy lifestyle and thrive in their relationships. She specializes in work with adults in the areas of trauma, anger management, addiction, communication skills, depression, anxiety, work with veterans and their families, LGBTQIA challenges/identity exploration, overcoming life challenges and fostering self-esteem. Her clinical work is supported through Erik Erickson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development, cultural competency, art therapy, DBT, CBT, Motivational Interviewing, strengths-based interventions, Gottman, Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) and EMDR.

Gina lives in the Gainesville, FL area with her husband and daughter. In her spare time, she is enjoying learning how to garden, sings in a local chorale, and loves scrapbooking, baking, yoga and walking/jogging for self-care.

Gina Romblad received Bachelor’s degrees in Social Work and Classical Voice with a minor in techn... Read More

Pronouns: She/They Third-Year Master of Social Work student, Florida State University

I am currently completing my second clinical placement at GCCC, where I bring a passionate and evolving practice in working with couples, families, and adolescents. My commitment is to provide a safe, inclusive, and affirming environment for individuals, couples, and families.

With a foundation in evidence-based practices, I integrate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Brief Solution Focused Therapy, expressive modalities, and systemic approaches in my work. I believe that healing and growth emerge when individuals, couples, and families are empowered to explore their strengths, articulate their goals, and engage collaboratively in change.

In sessions with adolescents and families, I bring a relational lens that acknowledges developmental challenges, identity formation, and the impact of the broader systems (including school, community, peers). For couples, I focus on helping partners deepen connection, improve communication, and renegotiate patterns in service of relational health. In all my work, I anchor my approach in cultural humility, affirming diverse identities, and valuing clients’ lived experiences.

My mission as a clinician-in-training is to walk alongside clients as they uncover new possibilities, build resilience, and create more meaningful relationships — internally with self, and externally with others. I look forward to contributing to the GCCC community and learning alongside the dedicated clinicians here.

Pronouns: She/They Third-Year Master of Social Work student, Florida State University I am curre... Read More

My name is Emily Westerholm (she/her/hers). I am a nature/plant lover, a mother, co-parent, and a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern. I am an advocate of unconditional positive regard but with an edge. Think Ted Lasso meets Mr. “T” but in the body of a cisgender, middle-aged woman.

I have worked in the Human Services field for two decades. In that time, I have focused on individuals in the following settings: prisons and jails, community mental health, transitional housing programs, schools, and health care clinics. I use evidence-based interventions and a client-centered approach that carves out space for strengths and empowerment.

I have lived in many places, from Texas to Alaska and several in between, but I fought hard to land in Gainesville and am ecstatic to live somewhere with such an ideal balance of beauty and grit. Living in Florida for all its glory comes with many obstacles; historical and current oppressions, mosquitos, limited housing, and a political climate that can jeopardize ones sense of internal and external safety.

My Bachelor’s Degree was obtained in Human Services with a concentration in chemical dependency. For the last several years, I worked as a certified substance abuse counselor in Virginia, specializing in opioid use and harm reduction. In 2023 I graduated with my Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis on substance use disorders. After completing my clinical internship at Alachua County Crisis Center, I started a small local nonprofit named Released that supports those that have been incarcerated. As someone dedicated to the impact of trauma, I received my Trauma Counseling Certification from the University of Milwaukee and was certified in core competencies as an advocate with the Florida CoalitionAgainst Domestic Violence.

Many of us feel overwhelmed and isolated. As a counselor, I strive to hold a space of compassion to address your unique journey and process what you bring into the room using humor, silence, or gentle encouragement. I integrate mindfulness, cultural and community integration, art, and storytelling, usingFeminist, Gestalt, and Systems theories in my counseling practice.

I look forward to meeting you and building a genuine therapeutic relationship that allows for laughter, tears, and, most importantly, all the in-between moments of nuanced growth.

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My name is Emily Westerholm (she/her/hers). I am a nature/plant lover, a mother, co-parent, and a... Read More