Meet Our Staff.
Elizabeth Watson, LCSW, CATP
Executive Director Elizabeth is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her Master’s in clinical social work from Florida State University. She has 38 years' experience in healthcare including 17 years’ experience in social work and mental health. She is a Qualified Supervisor-Florida Board of Clinical Social Work. She is a trained and Certified Child and Adolescent Trauma Professional (CATP). She enjoys working with all age groups and is a firm believer in empowering families to effectively intervene with children who may be struggling with issues, as well as managing the myriad of other dynamics associated with helping any family member to overcome mental health issues. Elizabeth is highly skilled at working with individuals, couples and families and utilizes various modalities including CBT, Trauma Focus-CBT, Family Structural Therapy, Sand Tray, Play Therapy, Solution Focused Brief (SFBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and others. Her areas of specialty include anxiety and depression, women’s emotional health, postpartum depression, family therapy, couples counselling, trauma and PTSD, domestic violence, child and adolescent behavioral issues, parenting issues, family addiction and grief/loss. Elizabeth has lived in the Tallahassee area most of her life enjoying many strong relationships in the community and within the juvenile and adult justice system, drug courts, the state health and human services system and local school system. She currently works with an equal number of private and public sector clientele.
Heather Summers, LMHC
Heather has worked in the field of mental health for the last 11 years. She graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelors in Child Development and Masters in Early Childhood Education. She then obtained her Masters in Counseling and Psychology from Troy University. Heather enjoys working with all ages and is trained to provide Trauma Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Person Centered Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Having worked in the school system for years as a teacher and guidance counselor, Heather has worked with a variety of modalities with adolescents. She also worked in the hospital outpatient setting utilizing group therapy with adults and adolescents which provided additional insight into her skillset. Heather is committed to assisting each individual build on their existing strengths to live their best possible life.
Cathy Emmer Foster, MS
Cathy earned her Masters’ in Counseling Psychology from Nova Southeastern University and has provided clients with various forms of counseling for over 30 years. She enjoys working with all age groups and specializes in behavioral and cognitive therapy. Her belief is that self-esteem and self-love are at the center of healthy choices and positive results in life.
Tania Chouloutte, MHCI
Tania is a Clinical Mental Health Counseling Intern. She received her Bachelor's in Psychology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with a minor in Women & Gender studies. She received her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Her natural theoretical approach is primarily Alderian, but she also utilizes practices from Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Motivational Interviewing. She truly believes that adolescence is the most critical stage in development, where the interventions set forth through those years serve as the last chance at a brighter future. Because of this, Tania enjoys working with adolescents in inner city schools, who have experienced trauma and neurodevelopmental disorders. Her long term goal is to someday open a safehouse for lost girls.
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Nicole Herrera, MS BCaBA Nicole graduated from Saint Xavier in Chicago, Il with a Bachelors’ degree in Clinical Psychology and a Master's degree in Psychology from Florida State University with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis. Nicole is a trained BCaBA. She is a spirited and compassionate behavior specialist dedicated to helping people reach their full potential and ultimately achieving their independence. Nicole brings vast experience in direct patient care in different settings including: private practice-clinical, school, private home, group home, adult day training facilities and prisons. Nicole is highly skilled in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Applied Behavior Analysis, Natural Environment Training, Discrete Trial Teaching, Errorless Learning, Reduction Programming and Functional Analysis.
Melissa Malone, LCSW
Melissa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who graduated from Florida State University with a Master's in Social Work.
Melissa holds the strong belief that each individual comes to therapy with the strengths and tools required to overcome the barriers they are facing. Melissa works with each individual to expand upon those strengths. Melissa's areas of therapeutic interest include trauma resolution, cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness. Melissa has a desire to help all populations and has experience including the LGBTQIA+ community, those experiencing severe mental illness and at-risk adolescents. Joel Westby, LCSW
Joel is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received his Master's degree from the University of St. Thomas/College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN. He has 20 years experience in social work and mental health. He enjoys working with all age groups including the geriatric population and severe and persistently mentally ill adults. Joel has been in Tallahassee for the past 11 years and knows resources in this community. He works with clients with depression, anxiety, life transitions and other mental health issues. He utilizes CBT, motivational interviewing and client centered and solution focused approaches in therapy. Joel meets the client where they are and helps them improve their life in a positive way.
Meghan Mowery, MSW, RCSWI
Meghan is a Registered Clinical Social Work Intern who earned her Master's degree from Simmons University in Boston, Mass. with a clinical concentration in behavioral health and substance abuse. Meghan has experience working with children, adults, and seniors utilizing a wide range of skills including Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Feminist Theory. Meghan works well with relationship and marriage issues, family conflict, self-esteem issues, substance abuse and more. Meghan is authentic with her clients and can help improve relationships, empower self-growth, and diminish emotional suffering in a comfortable and professional environment.
Lydia Sherman, MS
Lydia is a Ph.D. student at Florida State University in their combined Counseling and School Psychology program. Prior to FSU, Lydia earned a Master's in Mental Health Counseling at Georgia State University. Lydia brings vast experience including online counseling, children and adolescents with high behavioral needs, adults including seniors with dementia, and adults with sex addiction issues. Lydia utilizes CBT techniques while incorporating attachment styles and multiculturalism into her therapeutic sessions. While a therapist, she acts as a guide to help clients find self discovery and to ease distress in their day to day lives. She also focuses on empowering clients to find solutions to their problems.
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We're Here for You
We strive to meet the needs of our clients with Compassion, Experience and Professionalism. We provide extended hours of operation to meet the needs of students and working parents that include some evenings and weekends.