Genilda G. Journey is a Registered Clinical Social Work Intern with the Florida Department of Health. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Kansas (KU) School of Social Welfare in 2020 during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.  During her undergrad Genilda was an honors student who served as Vice President of the KU Edwards Campus Student Social Work Group. Upon graduation Genilda applied for and was accepted into the KU School of Social Welfare Advanced Standing Program where she focused her studies on clinical social work and therapeutic interventions. During her graduate studies, Genilda served as the KU Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Fellow for the 2020-2021 academic year where her research focused on the mental health of African American Inmates. Being a 2021 graduate of KU, founder of the nationally recognized “Strengths-Based Perspective” of social work, Genilda intends to utilize her strong strengths-based educational background to assess, utilize and build up the personal strengths of her clients in order to form clinical treatment plans that are individualized and obtainable.

Genilda is a passionate therapist who gained her clinical experience in the Kansas City, Mo area. She is competent in providing treatment and intervention to individuals experiencing depression and anxiety, couples who have experienced infidelity, adolescents and young adults experiencing homelessness, individuals who are having difficulty adjusting to life’s changes, along with experience providing clinical services to individuals who identify on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. She enjoys working with couples and seeks to become certified by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapist (AASECT) as a sex therapist in Florida. There she will gain additional education and best practice measures to provide long term treatment to clients who have concerns with developmental sexuality, issues with intimacy skills, diversity in sexual expression, survivors of sexual trauma, etc. Her education and experience provide qualification to utilize various methods of clinical intervention such as, Medication Management, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma Informed Care (TIC), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Gottman Method, Substance Use/Abuse Disorders, Cultural issues faced by African Americans, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Sexuality and Gender Diversity.

Genilda is a therapist who is easy to get along with and build trust. This helps her clients feel comfortable developing clinical relationships, which assists in higher levels of successful treatment goals.

Vanelys Fernandez-Diaz is a Registered Clinical Social Worker in the state of Florida. Vanelys is bilingual, English and Spanish, who has experience working with children, families, women, adolescents and elderly population. During her career she has created different programs directed to children, parents and families to promote a positive parenting and how to manage, identify or prevent traumas such as bullying and physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Vanelys worked as a therapist at Children Home Society, where was able to provide services to children diagnosed with autism, AH&D and anxiety, guiding them and their families to understand their diagnosis and providing tools and counseling to manage possible situations at home or school. When the pandemic started, Vanelys decided to explore the medical field and started working as a case manager/social worker at AdventHealth Hospital where she was able to identify in a time manner the needs of the patients, most of them elderly population, and coordinated resources for them to prevent a future admission. Even though she loved working at the hospital, her heart belonged to counselling and she decided to go back to her passion. Vanelys will be available for new clients and will offer interventions such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Play Therapy, Motivational Interview and Solution Focused Therapy to help individuals and families achieve their goals, empowerment and have a balanced life.