Clinicians
Bukky Kolawole
My Specialty
Dr. Olubukunola (oh-loo-boo-koon-aw-lah) Kolawole (caw-lah-wah-le), better known as Dr. Bukky (Boo-key), is a bicultural, licensed clinical psychologist with a strong value for collaboration and effectiveness. Over the past years, she has provided psychotherapy to help individuals and couples in New York City make desired changes in their life. She has helped her clients improve their mood and self-esteem, manage feelings of panic and anxiety, communicate effectively and feel close and secure in their relationships.
Dr. Bukky specializes in providing couple’s therapy, pre-marital counseling and discernment counseling for couples, including those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) community. She helps couples communicate and relate to each other in more emotionally responsive ways, guiding and supporting partners to use skills that are critical for improving and strengthening relationships so they last and are filled with comfort, security, and joy. She also works with partners who are exploring open relationships and polyamory.
Dr. Bukky has an active, engaging, warm and empathic style guided by approaches including Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Motivational Interviewing, each of which research studies have shown as effective for relieving relationship distress and symptoms of emotional disorders and for making lasting behavior change.
(Side note: You might be tickled to know that when the young Bukky encountered difficult situations or intense emotions, one of the strategies she used to cope was engaging in self-talk with her future self, whom she then named “Dr. B.” She still has her journal entries from childhood that reveal this.)
Dr. Bukky is passionate about helping her clients feel accepted, important and loved in their relationships. She is committed to helping you feel equipped with the skills you need in order to reach the people you care about and enjoy a more productive and fulfilling life.
My Specialty
Kimberly joined our team to expand our services for parents from diverse backgrounds including parents that identify as LGBTQI. Clinically, Kimberly specializes in working with parents seeking to address children’s behavior problems, as well as couples whose intimacy and closeness are being affected by disagreements about children or parenting roles/styles. She also works with separated and divorced parents navigating co-parenting relationships and LGBTQ families with elective co-parenting arrangements. Kimberly is highly skilled at helping parents create a harmonious home and cohesive family unit, regardless of their relationship status.
Kimberly Vasallo earned her Masters in Mental Health Counseling and her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Yeshiva University, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. Kimberly has completed specialized training in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Collaborative Problem Solving, Motivational Interviewing, and Substance Abuse Counseling.
Kimberly Vasallo’s journey to become a therapist wasn’t a traditional one. After years of training as a performer, Kimberly continued to have difficulty finding a way to express her value for service toward others within the theater profession. She had spent her entire life identifying as a singer and actress and had landed herself in theater conservatory, the Holy Grail for singers and actors in her community. But, the fear of redefining herself and letting go of all she knew as safe and familiar could not match the pain of feeling disconnected from her value for caring directly for the well-being of others. So, after 16 years, Kimberly made the hard decision to walk away from it all.
Kimberly coached Special Olympics teams and taught social skills to children on the autism spectrum using acting and performance, and she wanted to find a career that built upon these experiences and would allow her to foster wellbeing and happiness in others. In 2009, Kimberly found the courage to pursue her love for teaching and working with children and secured a position teaching 25 Kindergarteners. What Kimberly did not expect was that her interaction with her students’ parents would be the most fulfilling part of her role. She was energized by listening to parents’ challenges, whether their struggle was about their difficulty implementing a morning routine, conflict with a partner who had different parenting values, or just general parent/human burn-out. Kimberly supported these parents by modeling effective strategies and encouraging them to attend to themselves and their intimate relationship so they could create the best environment for themselves and their children.
Kimberly’s journey has been filled with wonder and “wonderful accidents,” which have left her feeling deeply rewarded by her work as a therapist. By integrating her background in performing arts with experiential and evidence-based therapeutic approaches, Kimberly is able to be creative and disarming in the therapy room as well as during home visits. These strengths, along with the whole-hearted way she engages and listens, are what draw clients to her and maintain their interest in their work together.
Kimberly Vasallo
Elisa Cameron
My Specialty
Because of Elisa’s unique background and focus on cultural competence, she specializes in working with individuals and couples from inter-racial and bicultural families, families formed through adoption, those within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) community, and individuals hoping to increase clarity and/or comfort around their various identities. Whether she’s helping clients proactively create a strong foundation through pre-marital counseling, or helping them navigate and resolve current tensions in their relationships through couples therapy, her focus on increasing her clients’ understanding of themselves, and their ability to relate to others helps her clients achieve more meaningful, fulfilling, and sustainable relationships.
While Elisa found her work to be rewarding, she felt it was incomplete. Although she was making a difference at individual, team, and organizational levels, she craved more. What exactly she craved, however, wasn’t immediately clear. While on a consulting project in New York, a family friend reached out asking for guidance for how to address her granddaughter’s struggle with being adopted. The request stopped Elisa in her tracks. As a transracial adoptee, Elisa knew this territory well; yet this was the first time her status as an adoptee proved to be an asset. This moment changed everything.
My Specialty
Danny specializes in working with individuals and families impacted by trauma, anxiety and acculturations issues. He also works with couples to help them communicate better and feel more emotionally connected. Danny is also experienced in helping families better understand the behavior of their young children (0 to 6 years old).
Danny earned a Masters in Social Work from New York University’s Silver School of Social Work, where his focus was early childhood development and family practice and earned a Bachelors in Fine Arts from East Carolina University. Danny has received specialized training in Emotionally Focused Family Therapy and has provided care in many settings including, Roberto Clemente’s Family Guidance Center, LaGuardia Community College’s Wellness and Counseling Center and New York City Public Schools.
Danny’s journey to become a therapist started in 2008 working for a Drama Therapy organization that matched professional actors with Licensed Drama Therapists to provide care to adolescents with behavioral problems. He loved getting to know the teens and families he worked with and particularly enjoyed facilitating the parent workshops provided to the families. Wanting to have a deeper impact in the lives of the families he worked with, Danny returned to school to become a therapist. Feeling he had a good grasp on therapeutic interventions for teens Danny focused on early childhood and family practice. What he learned regarding childhood adversity and the lifetime health implications it has on individuals that have experienced early childhood adversity had a profound effect on him. Since then Danny has devoted his life’s work to improving the lives of children and families. In addition to providing therapy at Relationship HQ, Danny also provides mental health consultation to numerous preschools across the city.
“Everything you need is already within you!” Danny believes in empowering clients with what’s already inside of them. He believes that people already carry with them the ingredients for change. With this in mind he is committed to establishing a collaborative relationship based on empathy, trust and respect where clients feel safe to explore their strengths and make the changes they desire.
Danny Gomez
Aleja Parsons
My Specialty
Dr. Aleja Parsons specializes in getting couples “unstuck,” whether from high conflict or painful distance. She is excellent at helping partners become aware of any underlying negative patterns that may be keeping them trapped and providing tools for them to join together against the issues tearing them apart. Dr. Parsons has extensive training in working with people of color and uses a multicultural framework to help couples navigate the ways that their racial identities shape their interactions in their relationships. Dr. Parsons’ work helps couples rediscover the love and compassion that brought them together and equips them with the understanding and responsiveness to help them maintain their bond.
Dr. Parsons earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Denver. Her research focuses on the reduction of relationship and family distress in underrepresented populations, with a specific emphasis on African American couples and families. Dr. Parsons’ research focuses on identifying culturally unique factors that help strengthen couples and families in marginalized communities despite social stressors (e.g. racism). Her work allows her to design effective, culturally relevant programs/treatments accordingly. Dr. Parson has received intensive training in couples therapy and has extensive experience working with black and brown people, the LGBTQ community, people with physical and cognitive disabilities, as well as veterans. Dr. Parsons is skilled in using approaches that research has shown to be helpful for couples in a flexible and culturally sensitive manner that prioritizes each couple’s goals and values.
Aleja was immediately drawn to psychology during her senior year of high school, when she first learned there was an entire field of study dedicated to understanding the way people think and behave. As a child, she was always fascinated by how people could have the same experience and leave with completely different perspectives about what happened. After the first day of her Advanced Placement Psychology course, she was hooked. Though she immediately knew her heart was locked into psychology, her undergraduate studies more deeply honed her passion for the field. As Aleja had received most of her early education at predominately White private schools, attending a Historically Black College and University, Howard University, opened her eyes to the breadth of diversity within the Black community. There, she realized that her upbringing in a two-parent home was not as common amongst her peers as she had known it to be. Aleja began wondering what parts of people’s experiences and backgrounds made it challenging for sustaining relationships and both how and why these patterns were connected to race and culture. Aleja went on to pursue her PhD in clinical psychology in aims of finding answers to these questions. During her training, she fell in love with being involved in research that typically occurs behind-the-scenes as well as providing direct client care; she strongly believes that having a foot in both research and direct client care strengthens her effectiveness and balance as a researcher and clinician.
Aleja is committed to creating spaces where all people have the freedom to live and love as their genuine and authentic selves. She believes that our differences as human beings enrich us and enable us to have a collective journey that is more powerful and impactful than could have been achieved in homogeneity. Given her deep value for authenticity, she is committed to coming to her work with clients as her full self, pulling not just from her expertise, training, and research, but also from her heart. Her life experiences have exposed her to extraordinary highs and earth-shattering lows – the breadth of that emotional journey is what allows her to connect with clients with deep empathy and compassion.
My Specialty
Andi has a unique and extraordinary ability to deeply empathize with people. In fact, she was recruited to join the Relationship HQ team because of this remarkable characteristic. Andi specializes in: 1) supporting the healing of individuals, couples and families whose lives have been impacted by trauma, including racial trauma; 2) strengthening the emotional connection and communication between couples experiencing conflict and/or distance in their intimate relationship; and 3) helping parents of young children, including those with special needs (i.e., cognitive delays, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, social-emotional and behavioral delays), balance attending to the needs of their children with caring for themselves and their relationships. Andi is dedicated to the service of all people, with a special interest in strengthening black and brown couples and families.
Andi earned her Masters in Social Work (MSW) at Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work, where her focus was on clinical work with children and families. She has ample experience working with adults, families and young children ages 2-5 in early childhood education settings. Andi’s work with couples is informed by the attachment-based model, Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples. She has specialized training in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is a New York State Department of Health approved provider of early intervention, special instruction and social work services for infants/toddlers and families.
In the context of her role as a case manager in a non-profit residential treatment program for adults with severe mental health disorders, Andi realized how gratifying it was for her to build relationships with clients and support them in attaining their goals. She then decided to attend graduate school to become a social worker.
Given her deep interest in strengthening families, Andi kicked off her clinical career engaging in early intervention and capacity building with parents and their infants and toddlers with special needs. This experience shaped her fundamental beliefs about the human capacity for growth and connection. As a parent herself, she viscerally understood her clients’ desires to give their children the support and tools they needed in order to reach their maximum potential. There, she also gained insight into some of the unique challenges faced by families of children with special needs.
Andi is committed to practicing from a framework that is culturally relevant, mindful and harnessing of the strengths already within her clients. Whether she is working with an individual, a couple, or the entire family system, she is focused on increasing her clients’ self-efficacy, ability to express and cope with difficult emotions, and capacity for healing and building lasting and fulfilling relationships.
Andi Sutherland-Johnson
Denise Ramirez
My Specialty
I am a bicultural (Dominican-American), bilingual therapist that specializes in working with individuals and families impacted by trauma, depression, anxiety and immigration-related issues (e.g., family unit separation, adaptation and adjustment while holding onto one’s own culture). I also work with couples in inter-racial/inter-cultural relationships to increase their ability to have conversations about race, and navigate cultural differences in their relationships.
I use a holistic approach that considers the interaction between my clients’ psychological and physical health, spirituality, race, culture, day-to-day experiences, and relationships. I engage my clients in a warm, relatable and compassionate manner. I offer a practical style that balances helping my clients gain insight with finding the skills to effectively manage their concerns. I aim to support my clients in increasing their confidence in navigating life’s challenges and their relationships.
My journey to becoming a therapist was incited by the separation that is common for immigrant families. Before I was born, my parents immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic, leaving behind their two young daughters (my older sisters) in search of a better future. While in the U.S., they had me and, when I was about six years old, their hard work paid off and they were able to reunite my sisters with our family. This separation to my family unit caused undeniable pain and confusion, and impacted all of us in different ways.
As a child, I was aware of feeling deep sadness for my sisters, who had spent most of their early childhood without our parents. I was also keenly aware of the pain (sadness and guilt) that my parents carried for the many special moments and milestones they had missed in my sisters’ young lives. With the hope of lessening the pain of my family, I found myself in the role of trying to help my family communicate better and strive for understanding. This experience influenced my desire to become a therapist and laid the groundwork for what would become my life’s passion: helping others work through their own difficult experiences.
I am invested in accepting you wherever you are and guiding our therapeutic work at a pace that is tailored to you and your needs. I am dedicated to being present with you, showing you acceptance while also challenging you with love. It will be a privilege for me to be a witness for you and the richness of your inner life.
My Specialty
I specialize in helping individuals, couples and families communicate better. I use a holistic approach to work with individuals, couples, and families of color, impacted by trauma, expected and unexpected life transitions, anxiety, and/or depression. My aim is to help my clients feel more empowered, accepting of themselves, and in control of their life. I work with couples navigating transitions, cultural differences, and conflict, supporting them to identify the patterns that are in their way and explore healthy and effective ways to communicate and strengthen their emotional bond with each other. I also provide coaching and/or family therapy to help parents and children communicate better so they can feel more emotionally connected to each other.
My lived experience has taught me about the importance of relationships and the power of communication for healing. This, along with the observation of my father’s passion and dedication to his clients inspired me to become a social worker. Being a therapist has not only enhanced my ability to support individuals and families to develop their ability to communicate, it has also enhanced my own communication and relationships.
I am passionate about my relationships, reading a good book and listening to some bomb music—these things fuel my joy for life and my work. I am also passionate about providing a safe, culturally relevant experience for individuals, families, and couples who work with me. I encourage transparency, vulnerability and knowledge building in my work and am dedicated to helping you feel more comfort with being uncomfortable, as I believe that to be necessary for growth. I am committed to relating to you in an authentic way, offering you transparency, and partnering with you in every step of our work so that you can feel confident that you are not alone and that I am alongside you.
Briana Scott
Call Relationship HQ at 212-730-7400 to schedule a 15-minute or complimentary phone or in-person meet and greet to learn more about our clinicians.
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