..................Gabriela Galvan de Antillon
....................Licensed Mental Health Counselor
..........Masters of Science in Mental Health Counseling
.......................Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
.......Vice President of Florida Mental Health Counselors
.........................Association-Miami Chapter
Biography:
I began my career in the Mental Health field in the late 1990’s completing my Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas in Psychology. As part of the program’s requirements I began to see my own therapist. “To know what it’s like to pull down your brick wall and openly talk to someone, you need to tear your wall down first.” This experience proved to be invaluable. Not only did I begin the journey into learning more about myself, but I started to see how the process of therapeutic change starts and begins to take place.
After completing my BA degree I moved to Florida and worked as a Child Protective Investigator at Broward Sheriffs Office. This was one of the most educational experiences of my life. I investigated cases of child abuse including sexual, neglect, abandonment, and the effects of substance use and divorce on children and families.
Upon leaving Broward Sheriffs office I entered a Master’s Degree program in Mental Health Counseling at Nova Southeastern University in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. At Nova I completed my educational requirements for licensure. During this time I also completed my pre-graduate internship requirements at Bayview Transitions Program.
My experience at Bayview Transition Program included running various therapy groups, individual therapy sessions, and treating individuals with chronic mental illness such as Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Co-occurring disorders such as Depression with substance use. This experience helped me today to bring hope in the life of my patience. My training also included supervision with clientele mandated by the court system to come to therapy as a legal condition if they wanted to reunify their family and or complete procedural obligations to avoid incarcerations. This experience taught me the invaluable lesson on how to convey to someone the value of being in therapy even when they did not want to be there.
Upon completing my master’s degree, I took a position as a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Therapist/Intern in a Community Based Mental Health Facility. I gained the clinical hours necessary to test for the Florida State Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) licensure. Here I had the opportunity to enhance once more my experience with co-occurring disorders, Substance Abuse, Depression, Rape, Women’s Issues, and many other issues some persons face at different periods of their life.
Today in my private practice I continue to work, honing my therapeutic skills taking into consideration that every human being is a universe of its own, that requires someone to really listen to him or her in order to device a treatment plan tailored to their specific needs.
I believe that humans true nature is happiness and balance.
Together we can find your true nature to enhance your everyday life.
