Counseling Institute of Atlanta, Inc.
5855 Jimmy Carter Blvd.
Suite 200
Norcross, GA 30071
ph: 404-630-1361
fax: 770-441-9177
alt: 404-663-4158
info
Dr. Alejandro Navarrete-Aguilar, Psy.D., LPC, CPCS
Alejandro obtained a Doctor of Psychology degree at California Southern University. He is a bilingual (English-Spanish) Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Professional Counselors Supervisor in the State of Georgia. He is also a registered domestic relations mediator in Georgia.
He earned a Master’s degree in Psychology with a Specialty in Professional Counseling from Argosy University in Atlanta- Georgia where he graduated with honors and received the Outstanding Student Award. Alejandro obtained a B.A. in Psychology from Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University and graduate studies in Education from the Pontifical Catholic University in Lima, Peru.
Alejandro specializes in couples therapy / marriage counseling. He received advanced training in the Gottman Method for Couples and Marital Therapy from the Gottman Institute in Seattle,Washington. In addition, he received training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, developed by Dr. Sue Jonhson from the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT) of Canada. He completed training in family therapy from the prestigious Family Institute of Lima in Peru. He also teaches divorce classes to help divorcing parents resolve parent-child conflicts resulting from separation and divorce in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
Alejandro is also an immigration-related-issues expert. In the last years, Alejandro has helped hundreds of people from different countries to complete solid clinical evaluations including mental health evaluations for Waivers, VAWA, U-Visa, Political Asylum, and Cancellation of Removal proceedings.
As a well-known community educator, Alejandro has appeared in a variety of media programs such as CNN in Español and Univision Atlanta, and Capital TV and La Mula TV in Lima-Peru. He has been a reliable source to Atlanta and Lima-Peru area newspapers who published his remarks about psychological issues. He also participated in a weekly live “call-in” radio show in Atlanta where he answered questions about family issues to a Spanish speaking audience.
Alejandro's professional experience includes his work of 32 years in the mental health and educational fields, including private practice, non-profit organizations, facilitator of psychoeducational groups, and previous work as an Adjunct Faculty for the Pontifical Catholic University and the Sacred Heart Feminine University of Peru. Alejandro is the founder and the clinical director of the Counseling Institute of Atlanta. He specializes working with couples, families, individuals, immigration evaluations, workers compensation cases, domestic violence, abuse / trauma, and anger management evaluations and treatment. Alejandro can also help parents that are in a divorce process through family counseling services including custody and visitation issues.
Dr. Jose Maria Artadi is an external consultant for the Counseling Institute of Atlanta. He is a bilingual, Spanish-English, psychiatrist, board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is Licensed in Georgia and Florida. He has years of professional experience working in our community for different agencies/clinics in Florida and Georgia. He graduated as a medical doctor from Central University of Venezuela in 1987. He completed an internship in child and adolescence psychiatry in the same university from 1988 to 2003. Dr. Artadi completed a psychiatry residency at the Jackson Memorial Hospital from the University of Miami, Florida from 1996 to 2000 and a Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship from 2000 to 2001.
Dr. Artadi specializes in evaluations for Social Security, bariatric evaluations, immigration evaluations, ADHD and Austim evaluations, and medication management.
Yarelie Calo Gobea is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia and Florida. She is also a Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor. She holds a Masters degree in Counseling from Palm Beach Atlantic University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico. Mrs. Calo Gobea is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Marriage and Family Counseling at Liberty University. Yarelie has worked in the counseling field for 15+ years. Her expertise are on the areas of divorce (custody, visitation, and parental fitness), immigration, trauma, children, parenting and family issues, marriage and remarriage issues, mood disorders, and adjustment issues. During her career, she has worked as a social worker, clinician, and clinical supervisor. She has served as a consultant and trainer to other clinicians throughout the United States creating programs and sharing her passion and expertise on working with children, adolescents, and their families. Her research interests include the topics of Forgiveness in Marriage and the Integration of Blended Families. Ms. Calo Gobea is married and she is the mother of four children. Her hobbies include: reading, gardening, and cooking.
Maria Eva Cameron is a trilingual (English-Spanish-Italian) Associate Professional Counselor at the Counseling Institute of Atlanta, originally from Paraguay. She completed her Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Argosy University in 2018. She earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology back in 2014 from Georgia State University where she did a research practicum at the Learning and Development Lab studying how young children learn from people around them and how they think and act based on experiences. She also did an applied practicum at Caminar Latino, a non-profit organization that works with Latino families affected by violence, where she facilitated children and youth sharing groups.
Maria Eva is working towards becoming a registered play therapist and specializes in trauma work. Her therapeutic approach comes from the Adlerian model which views the client in the client’s own context focusing on the development of each individual personality. She specializes working with children and adolescents, school-related issues, ADHD, and autism.
Maria Eva is passionate about awakening certainty, presence and purpose in her clients.
Gisselle Espaillat, is a bilingual (English-Spanish) therapist at the Counseling Institute of Atlanta. She is a Master Social Worker in the State of Georgia. She earned her Master's degree in Clinical Social Work, with a Certification in Marriage and Family from the University of Georgia. In 2013, she earned her Bachelor's degree in Science of Psychology at the University of Phoenix in Atlanta. She is originally from Peru and has been in the United States since December 1999.
Her passion is to work with adolescents and families. She has worked with children with Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EBD) at Oakland Meadow Elementary School and at Bridge Middle School and Bridge High School. She has also worked with adults and families with a wide range of issues including behavioral problems, trauma, depression, anger management, and anxiety. She counsels clients under the Existential and Humanistic Therapeutic approach. She is also a couples therapist.
Gisselle enjoys watching her children grow and loves to spend time with them and her husband. She loves to play, dance, and sing with her family and friends. She blindly believes in the family unit and how this bond can help to develop the psychological and emotional aspect of the individual.
Cindy Casias is a bilingual (English and Spanish) counselor completing her studies in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at South University. She was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. She completed her bachelor's degree in Psychology at Georgia Gwinnett College in 2016 with a concentration in the clinical field. She obtained her Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at South University in South Carolina. She is a member of the American Counseling Association and member of the Alpha Upsilon Alpha Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota. Her area of focus is to work with adolescents, teenagers, and adults. Her therapies consist of a theoretical approach in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This approach consists of targeting goals related to behavioral issues, emotional regulation, and creating coping strategies to help those to change their negative thoughts or behavior.
Erica Carretero Viegas is an Associate Professional Counselor in Georgia. She is originally from São Paulo, Brazil. She speaks English, Portuguese, and Spanish. The experience of living in the U.S has provided a great opportunity to learn about other aspects of life and expand your knowledge of the world's social and cultural diversity and how adapting to a new culture can generate major stress and develop mental health problems. She is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Erica is completed her master’s degree in Clinical Counseling in Mental Health at Adams State University. She has previous experience in clinical psychology while living in Brazil. She also became a group facilitator with certification in psychodrama techniques. Erica also obtained certification in hospital psychology, where she worked with patients with HIV, applying individual and family psychotherapy in supportive and bereavement therapy. She has also been certified in prenatal childbirth education for families and pregnant women. In the U.S., she is certified in Transpersonal Psychology and Relaxation Techniques, where she specialized for two years in deep relaxation techniques, which facilitates the process of releasing traumas and deep conflicts. Erica has also earned her Life Coaching certification, with experience in working in the recovery process for adolescents, children, individuals, and families, improving their communication skills, parenting skills and facilitating the family integration. She also has experience in conducting groups of meditation and relaxation. She has also become certified in NLP practitioner, a neuro-linguistic programming and applies concepts of Positive Psychology where she applies in the counseling and life coaching sessions. Erica has a great motivation to help and empower groups, families, couples, and teenagers in counseling to promote emotional balance. This arrangement of skills and techniques offers a unique, dynamic and transformative style of counseling. Her clients say that one of her strengths is the ability to connect quickly and provide confidence in the therapeutic relationship.
Melania Soto Garcia is a bilingual (English-Spanish) therapist, EMDR training and Certified Anger Management Specialist at the Counseling Institute of Atlanta. She obtained a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counselor at South University in South Carolina. Melania has experience with different mental health illnesses including, anxiety, depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Her passion is to help people through transitions in life. She aims to be an unbiased guide that helps her clients and advocates for them in their journey towards self-actualization. She has a special passion for working with children, adolescents, and young adults in times of transition and change. As the journey into adulthood includes numerous obstacles.
Melania utilizes aspects of Person-Centered, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in counseling sessions. She is aiming to form a therapeutic relationship with each client before addressing areas of growth.
Her experience in working with young adults in transition, individuals with relationships and family issues and has helped teens in crisis reconcile with their families. She will enjoy the opportunity to get to know you and add to your support system.
Silvia Maria Espinoza Justo is the co-founder of the Counseling Institute of Atlanta.
Silvia is originally from Peru and has thirty years of professional experience in the field of education and learning problems. She earned her bachelor's degree in Education from the Sacred Heart University in Peru. She obtained her license in Elementary Education at the Instituto Pedagogico Nacional de Monterrico in Lima, Peru. Silvia completed an Specialization in Language and Learning problems at the prestigious Peruvian Audition and Language Center-CPAL.
Silvia worked as an Elementary Teacher from 1989 to 2002 in public and private schools in Peru. Silvia was also part of a national plan in Peru for the training of elementary-level teachers, she participated as an instructor and collaborated with the design and plan and assessment of the program in 1996-1998.
In Peru, she worked for nine years as a therapist of language and learning problems, both in schools and private practice. Silvia participated in the design of activities and articles of school texts in the Language Arts area.
In Atlanta, she continued teaching Spanish for Adults at the Atlanta Academy of Language Learning and at Stone Mountain High School. Silvia is a certified Life Coach in Atlanta, Georgia and is currently pursuing a diploma in Assessment and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD at the Integral Center for Business and Psychological growth.
Edna Olvera Garcia is a Bilingual (Spanish- English) Mexican native who came to the U.S at an early age. She graduated from Norcross High School and is currently continuing her education. She has worked as a legal secretary for numerous firms and has an extensive knowledge of our clients' needs.
She is married and has four wonderful daughters. She enjoys spending quality time with them, loves to volunteer, and helps those in need. She is a Catechist at her church and an active member of Catholic Mission of Nuestra Señora de las Americas.
She is also the PTA president for Summerour Middle School. Because of this position she initiated a “Fruit Stand,”this was a project where she incorporated healthy eating as well as Latin culture into the school. It was a success and is in the process of bringing it to different schools throughout the county. She is an active leader of our community and has volunteer with Kathleen Allen whom was looking to be elected for Congress in Gwinnett County District 7.
She is a trustworthy and loyal individual, whom is not afraid of life’s next challenge.
Milagro María Ramos graduated from Metropolitan University of Barranquilla and obtained a license in Psychology in Colombia. She has a degree in Administrative Management and Human Resources from Universidad del Norte de Barranquilla. She is the lead assistant in the admin department of the Counseling Institute of Atlanta. She is also a life coach.
In the clinical field, her experience began in 1999 with the Colombian National Army being an active member and working not only with the military population in clinical psychology but also with the population affected by the internal conflict in her country.
Alternating her work in the organizational area of psychology, she was linked in 2004 to 2006 in CIPRI (Center of professionals for Integral rehabilitation) where she performed psychotherapy with children, adolescents, adults and couples, some of them with physical limitations and cognitive problems, she was the Administrative Manager of the VIDA PLENA Clinic from 2012 to 2013 in the city of Barranquilla, where she also performed Brief and Urgent Psychotherapy on patients who required it. In addition, in the last two years of her stay in Colombia, she was doing social work at the San Jose geriatric home in the city of Barranquilla, where she supported the process of adapting the new members into the activities of the geriatric home.
She obtained a certification as an auditor in HSEQ, Security and Norma BASC (Business Alliance for Secure Commerce. Since 2005 she worked as Human Resources and Administration Manager in multinationals such as SODEXO, JINCHENG; and SERVIENTREGA.
Yacsiri Goicochea is from Atlanta, Georgia. She is fluent in both English and Spanish. She graduated from Cambridge High School and is currently attending Georgia State University in hopes to obtain a bachelors degree in Psychology, Minor in Finance and a Gerontology certification. She is passionate about helping others. Her future aspirations include working with older adults dealing with emotional distress.
Her extracurricular’s include Delta Phi Omega sorority incorporated and has also been an e-board member of the Latin American Student Association for the past two years.
Yacsiri works as a bilingual intake coordinator at the Counseling Institute of Atlanta. She is currently a student in the Psychology Program at Georgia State University. She wants to pursue her dream of becoming a licensed therapist in Georgia and wants to complete her master and doctoral degrees in Psychology.
Copyright 2010 Counseling Institute of Atlanta, Inc.. All rights reserved.
Counseling Institute of Atlanta, Inc.
5855 Jimmy Carter Blvd.
Suite 200
Norcross, GA 30071
ph: 404-630-1361
fax: 770-441-9177
alt: 404-663-4158
info