Embrace Pathways to Wellness is a Licensed Mental Health Clinic and is accredited by the Joint Commission. The Joint
Commission strives to improve healthcare.
Embrace Pathways to Wellness is a mental health clinic that strives to offer a broad spectrum of mental health services to the
community. Embrace Pathways to Wellness’s mission is to provide clinically and culturally practical mental health assessment and
intervention services to children, adolescents, adults, and families.
Embrace Pathways to Wellness philosophy stresses providing the most appropriate mental health interventions for the medically
necessary condition identified during the diagnostic phase of care. In addition, embrace Pathways to Wellness believes in
accurately assessing clients’ initial complaints and organizing a multidisciplinary intervention to provide the least restrictive,
time-limited, and most experimental health intervention possible, given the referral problem.
Embrace Pathways to Wellness philosophy further stresses the preservation of the family and the need to have families and
individuals resolve crises rather than be placed in more intensive levels of care, such as residential programs, foster care, and
hospitals. Embrace Pathways to Wellness supports and strengthens the family by utilizing the resound community resources to
quickly solve problems rather than wait for a crisis to mount to a point where removing any family member is necessary for
safety’s sake.
Guest Speaker – Gabriela DeMello
My name is Gabriela DeMello, and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Massachusetts. I have been a senior
clinician and supervisor at Embrace Pathways to Wellness since March 2020. I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from
Universidade doe Sul de Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 2002. I did a post-graduation internship and became eligible for a Psychologist
license in 2003. In the USA, I earned a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Florida Christian University in 2012 and a
Master’s degree in Education in Counseling and Psychology from Cambridge College in 2015. From 2011 to 2016, I worked as an
in-home therapist in a clinic through a Masshealth program called CBHI (Child Behavior Health Initiative). I provided outreach
services in the community delivering high-quality, culturally competent, and appropriate mental health treatment to Portuguese
and Spanish families. I have worked with the Department of Children and Families and Mental Health. I participated in the training,
quality improvement, and assurance projects related to the CBHI program. I have a strong background working with culturally
diverse populations in the USA for over ten years.
I provide individual, family, and couple therapy primarily with Portuguese-speaking individuals and families. In addition, I
assist clients in overcoming the disadvantages of social exclusion and acculturation issues by providing specialized Cognitive
Behavior Therapy, trauma focus, and family systems therapy for individuals, couples, and families of Brazilian immigrants.
From 2015 to 2018, I volunteer as a Board Member of the Brazilian Work Center. I served to represent, support, and organize the
Brazilian and broader immigrant community to defend and advocate for their rights as workers and immigrant residents of the
state and nation. In addition, I assisted immigrants in becoming knowledgeable, active participants in their communities through
leadership, civic engagement, and health literacy training. I also participate in the Board of directors meetings to help the executive
team make decisions about new campaigns and projects in the community. From 2017 to 2020, I worked as a supervisor and
program director in a local community clinic. I supervised and coordinated multidisciplinary and ancillary support staff in providing
mental health services to clients; discussed problem cases with supervises and made suggestions and recommendations. I also
reviewed case records for completeness, consistency, and quality of mental health services, including applying proper techniques
and ensuring compliance with state and federal mandates.
In 2017 I opened my private practice and worked with diagnosing and providing individual, family, and couples therapy to
improve mental health. I have extensive experience examining depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mental health issues.
In 2020, I also volunteered as vice president of a non-profit organization. I was responsible for
implementing Foundation’s programs that carry out the organization’s mission; I was responsible for strategic planning to ensure
that the Foundation can successfully fulfill its Mission in the future. I have also volunteered at a Brazilian Church since 2014,
providing child care for children ages 6-8.
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