Elyssa Barbash, PH.D.
LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST, OWNER
Please note, Tampa Therapy is a group therapy practice with several highly skilled and experienced licensed therapists. Please see below for information on our team.
Background & Experience
Dr. Elyssa Barbash is a Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida. She has over 15 years of varied clinical experiences having worked in outpatient, inpatient, residential, and partial-hospitalization programs. She has been in private practice for over a decade, providing both individual and couples therapy. She is a subject-expert and Tampa Bay’s leading authority in the diagnosis and treatment of trauma, PTSD, other trauma reactions (anger, depression, anxiety, relationship issues), depression, anxiety, marital and couples therapy, and the administration and interpretation of psychological testing.
In addition to private practice, Dr. Barbash is a contributing blogger on PsychologyToday.com. She previously worked as a Staff Psychologist for the Veterans’ Health Administration at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, where she completed her one year pre-doctoral internship in trauma psychology specializing in the treatment of trauma and PTSD. Additionally, she completed her post-doctoral residency at the James A. Haley VA in general mental health. She has many years of professional experience working with veterans from all war eras, civilians, and active duty military personnel with complex issues such as combat trauma, military sexual trauma, childhood trauma, PTSD, grief, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, Dr. Barbash has years of experience providing comprehensive psychological testing for diagnostic and personality assessment purposes, as well as PTSD/trauma specific assessment.
Specialization
Dr. Barbash’s specialized training in trauma and PTSD has allowed her to focus her clinical work on helping individuals who have experienced psychological trauma or PTSD, as well other trauma reactions (e.g, depression, anxiety, anger, and relationship problems). She is certified in Eye-Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Prolonged Exposure (PE), which are three gold-standard evidence-based treatments for trauma and PTSD.
Additionally, she has extensive experience working with other problem areas and is trained in multiple evidence-based treatments for depression and anxiety, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). She also has significant experience conducting psychological testing, consulting across disciplines, and providing mentorship and supervision to other practitioners.
meet the Tampa Therapy TEAM
Stefanie B.
Stefanie is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Master’s Level Certified Addictions Professional in the state of Florida who has over a decade of counseling experience. She has worked in a variety of counseling settings, which allows her to support individuals from a more holistic perspective. Stefanie has an eclectic therapeutic style, incorporating multiple modalities to address issues and/or challenges with depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and trauma. She uses Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, as well as Solution Focused Treatments. Stefanie feels it’s very important for clients to identify and understand their behaviors so they can work to create their best outcomes for success.
Dr. Abuelhiga
Patricia
Patricia is a bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 15 years experience in a range of therapeutic settings, including healthcare programs, inpatient settings, addiction programs, military, and education. She is experienced in dealing with crisis intervention, anxiety, trauma, grief, depression, and social emotional wellness with adults, family, group, children, adolescents, and elderly clients. Patricia’s approach emphasizes mutual development of goals for therapy in which each client can holistically become introspective and knowledgeable with their inner self. With the use of cognitive behavioral therapy, solution focused therapy, motivational interviewing, and mindfulness, she provides clients with an integrative approach to mental health and wellness.
Nicollette
Nicollette is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida and completed her Masters of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an Advanced Certificate in School Counseling at Long Island University in Brookville, NY. Nicollette has significant experience treating anxiety, depression, self-esteem issues, trauma and various other concerns. She uses a Cognitive Behavioral approach, as well as, Mindfulness, throughout the therapeutic process. She has a strong passion for helping others and aims to create a supportive and non-judgmental environment where her clients feel comfortable in collaboratively working together to accomplish their goals.
Jaima
Jaima is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Florida. Jaima has worked in a variety of areas including adoptions, early childhood intervention and hospital-based care. Jaima has experience working with those experiencing grief, depression, anxiety, stress, and trauma. Jaima has been a practitioner of mindfulness for six years and applies this to her clinical practice. In her sessions, challenges and adversity will be transformed into an opportunity for growth, healing and transformation. Jaima’s therapeutic approach is tailored to the individual’s needs, utilizing resources from strengths-based and cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as mindfulness techniques and somatic-based intervention. Jaima has a deep passion to support you through the process of looking deeply within yourself, accepting all parts, and uncovering the courage and resilience that help bring an end to your suffering.
Yaneris
Yaneris is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with over 6 years of experience providing therapeutic services to children, teens, adults, and families. She has experience working with multiple populations including individual who identify as LGBTQ and Transgender, immigrants, and adoptive families. She has worked in a variety of settings including inpatient treatment, outpatient care, community mental health, and DCF affiliated programs, which has allowed her to gain vast experience in accommodating her client’s needs. Yaneris has experience treating multiple concerns including depression, trauma, anxiety, adjustment issues, adoption related issues, gender identity, and self-esteem. She utilizes techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Person Centered Therapy, and TBRI techniques. Yaneris strives to always provide a safe space for her clients where they can identify barriers and develop a plan to improve their overall functioning.
Stephanie K.
Stephanie is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with over a decade of experience. She believes that everyone is deserving of a safe place to work through life’s difficulties so she strives to create a warm, welcoming environment that promotes one’s highest potential. A holistic approach is utilized to demonstrate how powerful connectivity of the mind, body, and spirit can be in the healing process and with equipping oneself in successful goal achievement. Stephanie has walked alongside many young adults, mature adults, and couples through difficult periods of life, transitions, and choices. She understands that no single approach is the right one for every individual so is trained in a range of modalities. Stephanie views therapy as a joint venture where combined knowledge and skills are used to determine the best path of treatment and successful outcomes. A large portion of her work is with people across gender, cultural, and sexuality spectrum. Her therapeutic style is centered around respect, understanding, sincerity, and providing a unique perspective to any challenge experienced. Her goal is to help people better understand themselves so they can feel more fulfilled as an individual, partner, and/or professional. Therapy modalities include: CBT, Trauma Focused, Mindfulness, ACT, Solution-Focused, Interpersonal, Personal Skills, and Insight Oriented.
Dr. Negron-Chaves
Dr. Elena Negron-Chaves is a bilingual (Spanish-speaking) Licensed Clinical Psychologist with 20 years of experience in psychological diagnosis, individual and group psychotherapy, psychological testing, teaching, and research. She has worked with adults, adolescents, children and couples in hospital, inpatient and outpatient clinic settings in New York City, Puerto Rico and Tampa Bay. Dr. Negron-Chaves specializes in treating anxiety disorders (GAD, OCD), depressive disorders, and individuals with a history of trauma and PTSD. While working at the Bay Pines VA, she was trained in Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing (CPT), Mindfulness, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She uses a holistic-eclectic and client-centered approach to support and empower clients to understand their unique strengths and resources. She provides guidance to identify and heal areas that are holding clients back from achieving their goals and from becoming the best version of themselves. She approaches couples therapy using the Gottman method and Emotionally Focused Therapy.
Dr. Negron-Chaves also uses mind-body and somatic therapy approaches to explain how trauma and stress will affect your body and how physical symptoms signal unconscious unresolved issues. Client will trust their mind, body, intuition and capacity to self-care, and discover a life of wellness, informed choices and freedom. Dr. Negron-Chaves has a strong interest in helping survivors of narcissistic and psychological abuse from family members and love relationships. She helps domestic violence victims and children of emotionally immature parents to identify origin of maladaptive attachment, pathological relational patterns, and codependency. Clients will learn to identify manipulation, gaslighting, coercive control, and how to deal with it, and escape from the fear, shame, self-doubt and confusion that traps them in a life of emotional abuse. Clients will re-learn to trust their reality and body sensations, break trauma bond, and heal and thrive in a safe and supportive space. “Healing does not mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.”
Jennifer
Jennifer is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who received her Master’s in Psychology from Palm Beach Atlantic University. She is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Level II (CCTP-II) therapist specializing in PTSD and trained in EMDR. Jennifer provides a non-judgmental space for open communication to help clients with a variety of emotional issues, including depression, anxiety, self-harm, substance abuse, bipolar disorder. Jennifer utilizes her learned therapeutic approaches to ease clients into a world of recovery and decreased suffering. Jennifer is also a Registered Yoga Instructor and is able to incorporate meditation and grounding into sessions to aid in anxiety release and mindfulness. Jennifer is an interactive and solution focused therapist. With compassion and understanding, she works with each individual to help them build on their strengths and attain personal growth.
Dr. Laun
Dr. Sophia Laun is a Licensed Psychologist in Florida and New Jersey with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has specialized training in several evidenced-based treatments, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).
Dr. Laun currently works in private practice, where her focus is on individuals who are struggling with the lasting effects of trauma, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and relationship difficulties. Prior to this, she had 20 years of experience working at a community-based nonprofit organization, where she provided advocacy, crisis-intervention, and therapy to adults and teens who experienced sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. During the last four years of her tenure, she served as clinical director, overseeing counseling services and providing supervision to the clinical team. Dr. Laun also completed doctoral-level training in a variety of other settings, including an inpatient psychiatric hospital, crisis-response center, outpatient clinic, and integrated primary care setting. Through these experiences, she provided a range of clinical services, including brief behavioral health interventions, individual therapy, psychoeducational groups, crisis evaluations, and comprehensive psychological assessments.
Dr. Laun is passionate about providing a safe space for individuals to heal from traumatic events, whether they occurred recently or long ago. She is committed to empowering each individual on their unique journey, as they work toward creating lasting changes and improving their quality of life.
Contact Us
Emergency: In case of an emergency, please dial 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Room. If someone is having thoughts of suicide please call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. We DO NOT see walk-ins or provide emergency services on site.
Connecting with clients is an important part of the therapy process. Please give us a call at 813-474-9395 to discuss your therapy goals and schedule an appointment. Please note, services are by appointment only.