Our Services
NOTE: Our services are separated into two categories for convenience; Counseling Services and Divorce Related Services. Select from the menu of each category to read a brief description.
Counseling Services
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Select from the menu tabs to read a brief introduction to the service of interest. Contact our office to learn more or to schedule an appointment.
Adolescent Counseling
Raising teenagers can be beyond challenging. Whether it be depression, school problems, defiance, substance use, self-esteem or blended family issues, an adolescent having a counselor’s guidance in a safe environment can be the difference to helping them figure things out. All of the therapists at OPA provide supportive individual attention to the growing and complicated needs of today’s teens.
Alcohol and Substance Use
Are you or a loved one using a substance in excess, where it is causing impairment? Has alcohol or drugs become a way of coping with difficult situations, anxiety, relationships or memories? If so, you may benefit from counseling to improve how you handle stress, emotions and connect with others in a healthier way. Several of our clinicians have experience working with clients and families with a primary diagnosis of substance dependence and co-occurring related issues.
Child and Play Therapy
“Dr. John’s” approachable disposition and years of experience give him a true advantage when establishing trust with young children. Each child has their own unique strengths and needs, with care being given to the method and strategies which support healthier emotional expression and behavior change.
Therapeutic play allows troubled children to express themselves in a more healthy manner and aids in developing adaptive skills. Parents and siblings may be incorporated into the child’s therapy to facilitate harmonious family relationships and functioning.
Couples Counseling
Worlds may, in time, collide when two people decide to enter into a partnership. The impact of communication and trust problems can break down a relationship. In a safe and confidential setting, each partner’s history and personality are considered and explored. Our therapists use varying techniques to assist couples reach their relationship vision, and treat each client with a compassionate, respectful, and unbiased approach.
EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. EMDR has been extensively researched and proven to be highly effective for several issues. EMDR utilizes the brain’s mental processes to heal past hurts and move toward emotional well-being.
Family Therapy / Parenting Support
Effectively helping children, adolescents and their parents most often requires a keen understanding of the family system. Our therapists can work to identify how each member of the family contributes to the problems presented, and works to efficiently address hurting relationships and dysfunctional habits.
We will frequently assist with discipline strategies and instruct parents on behavior modification techniques.
Individual Counseling
At Orlando Psychology Associates, our compassionate and experienced therapists provide individualized psychotherapy to clients in search of change. Each person is unique and presents with a specific set of strengths and areas for growth. Individual therapy is a joint process in which we guide you toward your goals in pursuit of greater self-understanding and transformation. Our hope is to accompany you on your therapeutic journey toward healing and personal development.
LGBTQI Counseling
Our therapists and staff members are allies to the LGBTQI community. Therapy is individually based, person-centered, takes into account and addresses challenges faced by this particular population. We strive to create and maintain a safe, warm and accepting atmosphere for all of our clients.
Psychological and Educational Testing
The psychologists of OPA are able to provide psychological assessment and evaluations for a number of issues:
- Emotional and Personality functioning (Children and Adults)
- Intellectual and Academic Testing (for Learning Disabilities or Gifted)
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Child Abuse/Sexual Abuse assessment
- Pre-Surgical Procedures
- Immigration Hearings
- Individual Parenting Assessment / Court-Ordered Evaluation
School, Job and Life Transitions
Each phase of life provides us with unique challenges and opportunities for growth. Adolescents, young adults, adults and seniors may expect to have a greater understanding of developmental life issues, as well as acquire an improved capacity to cope and/or adjust to new life circumstances. That is to say, you may expect to become more self reliant and as such, experience greater satisfaction, harmony and happiness.
Spanish Speaking Services
Dr. Monica Pedemonte is a bicultural psychologist who is able to provide a variety of counseling services to Spanish speaking individuals and families of central Florida.
Individuals struggling with issues specific to culture, gender, race, ethnicity, and/or sexual orientation may expect to find an improved sense of self. They may expect to find sensitivity to the unique stressors faced by minority populations and/or those feeling marginalized.
La Dra. Monica Pedemonte, psicóloga bilingüe licenciada, tiene 30 años de experiencia especializada en tratamiento clínico a grupos culturalmente diversos los cuales incluyen adolescentes, adultos y ancianos. Es importante reconocer que a través de un tratamiento adecuado, pueden aliviarse los síntomas del estrés, la ansiedad y la depresión. Al obtener entendimiento de su condición y al aceptarse a si mismos, nuestros pacientes pueden recobrar la esperanza en un futuro que incluye mejores relaciones con su familia, compañeros de trabajo y amistades. El tratamiento adecuado puede proveerle al paciente la oportunidad de adquirir y poner en practica estrategias que promueven el bienestar físico y mental.
Divorce Related Services
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Select from the menu tabs to read a brief introduction to the divorce related service of interest. Contact our office to schedule an appoint or to learn more.
Custody and Parenting Plan Evaluations
Parenting Plan Evaluations (formerly known as Custody Evaluations) are occasionally needed by the court in highly adversarial and complicated family dissolutions. Parenting Plan Evaluations are very comprehensive, evaluating all family members, and are focused on serving the child’s best interest. The process requires several steps, to include interviews of all family members, a review of relevant documents, consultations with others close to the family, and psychological testing.
This social investigation and family assessment provides a wealth of information to those involved. The overall goal of the evaluation process is to educate the court, so as to assist the Judge in making the critical decisions about how the child/children will be raised and how the family will move on with their lives.
Family Mediation and Collaborative Law
Mediation is a process whereby a neutral and impartial third person acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute without prescribing what it should be. It is an informal and non-adversarial process intended to help quarreling parents reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
Dr. Grbac is a State Certified Family Mediator and is best equipped to help parents to resolve disagreements regarding the children and time-sharing. At times, Dr. Grbac is also used as a consultant during the mediation process, providing guidance as the child specialist.
Collaborative Family Law is a relatively new approach to resolving family disputes in a healthy way, utilizing a team of professionals. The collaborative family process is based on a pledge to avoid court, with an open exchange of information, recognizing that when children are involved, relationships and obligations will continue. Each parent will maintain the support, protection, and guidance of his or her own attorney, who work in a collaborative fashion. The collaborative team includes a neutral mental health professional and a neutral financial professional.
Dr. Grbac will serve the team as the neutral mental health professional, and be responsible for helping to navigate the emotional issues in the interest of the children and family. The team works diligently, on the family’s time schedule, not the court’s lengthy and unpredictable schedule. The team supports the family until a mutually acceptable agreement is reached, all accomplished without stepping foot into a courtroom.
Parenting Coordination / Co-Parenting Counseling
Parents that are plagued by hostility and disagreements, place their children at risk for all types of emotional, behavioral, and social problems. Parenting Coordination is an intervention and process which strives to assist parents in developing the skills necessary to successfully reduce conflict while raising their children.
A Parenting Coordinator (PC) may be appointed and ordered by the court to assist the parties in communication, problems solving, and dispute resolution. The PC promotes a child’s rights to have access to both parents and protects their best interests.
Therapeutic Visitation and Reunification Counseling
When a child and parent relationship is fractured, therapeutic assistance may be necessary to repair the damage and encourage healing. Whether due to child abuse, divorce-related problems, substance use, parental alienation or other complicated factors that may interfere with the relationship and contact, children deserve emotional support and protection.
Therapeutic Visitation, Therapeutic Reconciliation Counseling or Reunification Counseling may be required by the court to assist in mending the broken child-parent relationship and cases where time-sharing contact has been stopped. This sensitive, intricate and challenging intervention requires a seasoned specialist to help all members of the family cope with the process of restoring a child-parent relationship.
