Marisela Ortega-Gomes, LPCC
Marisela has been a counselor for the past 19 years; she was awarded her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Boston College in 2001 and her Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling from Johns Hopkins University in 2005. Mrs. Ortega-Gomes specialized in trauma-focused counseling and has been providing therapeutic services primarily to children and adolescents with a history of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse and/or neglect.
Marisela has extensive experience working with clients that struggle with Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Adjustment Disorders, among other psychiatric diagnosis. She has been trained in Play Therapy, SandPlay Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and reprocessing Therapy (EMDR.)
For most of her career, Marisela has been involved with Children Advocacy Centers, working closely with social service agencies, prosecutors, Guardians At Litem, court advocates to aid children and their families during their involvement with these agencies.
Thanks to her cultural background, she has effectively counseled Hispanic families in their native language which positively impacts their mental health treatment.
More recently and through her own journey, Marisela has learned about and integrated mindfulness practices into the play therapy process to help children develop emotional regulation and self-awareness while they work through their emotional challenges.
Even though Marisela’s primary focus has been working with children and families, she has worked with and has extensive experience helping adult clients throughout her career. Her work with adults has included helping them process and work through past history of trauma, grief, depression, anxiety.