In my everyday life, I believe it's vital to consider how our interactions shape us and our relationships. As a marriage and family therapist, I'm attuned to the patterns that can hinder us and our connections. Questions like, "Why do I feel annoyed when my partner wants to hang out with friends?" or "How do I stop dwelling on past issues?" are common. Understanding how our experiences shape us is key to healthier relationships. I draw from various methods like Gottman and Emotionally-focused therapy to help couples foster fulfilling connections, navigate issues like infidelity and separation, and manage conflicts. Fluent in both English and Spanish, I'm here to support you.

On our therapeutic journey together, your visibility, validation, and support are paramount. I offer a safe, judgment-free space for you to explore and be truly understood, empowering your emotional well-being. Through therapy, we unlock healing potential, especially in times of stress, depression, or anxiety, which can strain relationships and self-esteem. Collaboration fosters powerful change as we delve into your insights and strengths. My warm, empathic style combines various approaches like DBT, CBT, Family Systems, Attachment, and Narrative therapy. I'll challenge you at your pace, guiding you through life transitions, intimacy issues, infidelities, communication difficulties, and more. I provide individual, couple, and family therapy, welcoming all. Together, we'll navigate challenges, embracing the infinite power of your light.

I'm Gabriela Torres, a bilingual (English/Spanish) Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor in New Jersey. With over 10 years of experience, I am adept at supporting diverse populations, including BIPOC individuals, across various life stages. Holding degrees in Professional Counseling Psychology and Forensic Psychology, I believe in therapy that aligns with your values and helps you live fully. Suffering is universal, but our responses can shape its impact. I view each person as the expert in their own life, guiding them through challenges. In therapy, your story is central, and I'm here to listen, teach, and challenge, drawing from evidence-based methods tailored to your needs. Together, we explore new perspectives and unlock your inner wisdom.

As a passionate LMFT, I'm grateful to witness the courage of my clients as they share their relationship struggles, from marital conflicts to parenting challenges. My empathetic approach, shaped by my own life experiences, fosters a supportive environment for exploration. Using solution-focused techniques and a collaborative approach, I help clients uncover strengths and resources to achieve their goals. Sessions are flexible, sometimes ending with prayers or uplifting music, all geared towards progress. Outside of work, I'm a devoted mom to two boys, enjoying time with friends, outdoor activities, and family outings to places like Six Flags, where my husband and I prefer the bench to the roller coasters.

I'm deeply honored to accompany clients on their healing journey. My commitment lies in supporting clients as they explore self-perception and relationship dynamics, recognizing the influence of systemic factors and past wounds. Therapy serves as a vital tool to uproot emotional obstacles, fostering healthier growth. Drawing from various approaches including the Narrative Model and Emotionally Focused Therapy, I eagerly anticipate guiding you toward healing. Valuing each client's expertise on themselves, I offer redirection, feedback, and unwavering support. With experience spanning diverse client backgrounds, including couples, families, and individuals in transition, I'm dedicated to facilitating their journey to greater happiness and well-being. As a mother and wife, family bonds hold significant importance to me, alongside passions for music, travel, and social justice advocacy.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist, my key focus is on active listening and creating a supportive space for your journey. Together, we'll strengthen your skills and identify tools for lasting change. With a collaborative, strength-based approach, I empower you to shape your own narrative. I've helped clients with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, parenting challenges, self-esteem, and trauma. By exploring your unique story, we unlock perspectives for growth. Utilizing family systems, solution-focused, emotionally focused, cognitive behavioral, and psychodynamic therapies, I tailor sessions to your needs. Beyond therapy, I enjoy cooking, spending time with family, reading, watching movies, and occasional retail therapy.

My name is Brianna Velez, and I am a Licensed Social Worker! Through a compassionate and strengths-based approach to mental health care, I hope to empower clients to believe in their own worth and potential as individuals to grow through the therapeutic process. I am deeply passionate about helping women and men of color overcome struggles with anxiety and depression while also addressing how these mental health struggles might be compounded by stigmas against mental health treatment. I prioritize cultivating a safe and non-judgmental space for clients to begin their own journeys to self-love and self-empowerment. I am a firm believer that all clients have the capacity to grow and change even amidst the deepest of adversities. As a therapist, I use an empowerment and strengths-based model to encourage clients to view their struggles and successes as independent from their capacity for change. That is, whether a client is struggling or succeeding, they are still worthy of growth, change, self-love, and compassion. Together, my clients and I will take the first step on this journey towards growth and a brighter future.