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Shanalein Cruz, LMHC, is a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. Shanalein works virtually. She also has over nine years of experience working with LGBTQ youth, children who are abuse survivors, and associated mental disabilities. Her areas of expertise include sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Other areas of her work experience encompass autism spectrum disorder, anxiety disorders, and ADHD.

Shanalein's work is guided by Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Gestalt, Multicultural, Person-Centered Therapy, Play Therapy, and Talk Therapy. The approach Shanalein uses is informed by the diverse populations she treats, cultural respect, and sensitivity to different languages. 

Shanalein graduated from Capella University with high honors. Her work in the past was with the Latino community in Philadelphia, which led to her focus on children of abuse. Her affiliations are with the American Counseling Association and the CHI Sigma Iota Professional Counseling Honor Society.

Ms. Cruz is bilingual in both English and in Spanish. 

Valeska Thompson is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) who provides compassionate, evidence-based psychiatric care to adults. She is committed to creating a supportive and collaborative environment where individuals feel heard, respected, and empowered throughout their mental health journey.

Valeska earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Kean University, her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), and her Master of Science in Nursing specializing in Psychiatric Mental Health from Walden University. She brings more than a decade of healthcare experience, with a professional background spanning critical care, emergency services, care management, and healthcare operations.

Her practice focuses on the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of a variety of mental health conditions, including anxiety disorders, depression, mood disorders, stress-related concerns, and life transitions. She utilizes a patient-centered approach that integrates comprehensive psychiatric assessment, medication management, psychoeducation, and supportive therapeutic interventions.

Valeska believes that mental health treatment is most effective when it is collaborative. She works closely with each individual to develop personalized treatment plans that align with their goals, values, and unique life circumstances. Her approach is grounded in empathy, clinical excellence, and respect for the diverse experiences that shape each person's path to wellness.

She is passionate about helping adults build resilience, improve emotional well-being, and achieve meaningful, lasting change in their lives.

Outside of her clinical practice, Valeska enjoys spending time with her family, pursuing personal and professional growth, and exploring holistic approaches that support overall wellness and mental health.

Iyantta Howell, M.D. is a Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist with over 17 years’ experience working in a variety of clinical environments, including inpatient and outpatient settings, prisons, residential treatment facilities, and partial hospital programs. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from The University of Michigan and obtained her medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine. She went on to complete her Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship training at The University of Pennsylvania’s Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

She enjoys working with all age groups and has served ethno-culturally diverse populations, engaging with patients, families, and partnering with team members within complex organizational structures. In addition to interventions such as medication management, Dr. Howell places a strong emphasis on psychoeducation, with the goal of empowering patients on topics such as disease recovery and disease prevention.

Neil Altman, PhD, is a seasoned psychoanalytic psychotherapist at Harlem Family Services, located in the East Harlem community of Manhattan in New York City.

Dr. Altman has many years of experience in community-based work, in public clinics, and in private practice. He is currently co-chair of the section on Community Psychoanalysis of the American Psychoanalytic Association. He is a member of the faculty at the William Alanson White Institute in New York City and at the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis in Boston. He is an Honorary Member of the William Alanson White Society and Visiting Faculty at Ambedkar University of Delhi, India. 

Dr. Altman is Editor Emeritus and Associate Editor of Psychoanalytic Dialogues, and on the editorial staff of The Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy; The Journal of Child Psychotherapy; and The International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies. He is the author of "Psychoanalysis in Times of Accelerating Cultural Change: Spiritual Globalization" (2015), "The Analyst in the Inner City: Race, Class and Culture through a Psychoanalytic Lens" (2010), and "White Privilege: Psychoanalytic Perspectives" (2020). He is the co-author of "Relational Child Psychotherapy" (2002). Dr. Altman has published more than sixty articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Hello and Welcome! My name is Dr. Mariam Aboukar, and I am a Board-Certified Psychiatrist. I serve as the CEO & Founder of Empath Medicine, a psychiatric private practice aimed at providing holistic, compassionate and integrative mental health care for all ages. Empath Medicine offers its services in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Rhode Island and during evening and weekend hours to accommodate the working professional and student. I have been blessed to train at prestigious institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Harvard Medical School Affiliate Hospitals and currently work at Yale New Haven Health. Additionally, if you visit my website, you will find that I am particularly passionate about helping medical trainees and professionals combat burnout. If our doctors are happier and healthier, our patients will be too! I also serve children and adolescents of war-torn countries and survivors of trauma. Schedule a consult call today!

Dr. Yissell Delvalle, MD, FASAM Dr. Yissell Delvalle is a Board Certified Psychiatrist, Board Certified Addiction Medicine doctor, who graduated from UMDNJ-Rutgers Medical School in Newark NJ. She specialized in Psychiatry at Saint Vincent's Hospital in Midtown New York. Dr. Delvalle received her undergraduate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with highest honors (summa cum laude) from Rutgers in New Brunswick NJ. She exerts expertise in General Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine, Individual Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Psychopharmacology. She particularly treats patients with addiction, anxiety disorders, psychosis and women with post-partum depression. Her expertise surrounds the outpatient therapy methods of detoxification, drug addiction, painkillers addiction, psychiatric disorders, dual diagnosis and Treatment Resistant Depression.

Sheldon has over 15 years of experience in healthcare. He has worked with a diverse population of patients including adults and children. He has been trained and practiced as both a medical provider and a psychiatric provider which enables him to provide thoughtful care that considers the whole person. He offers support through mental health challenges by providing short-person problem based counseling and also provides psychopharmacological treatment.