Anabela Araujo, LMHC

Anabela G. “Bela” Araujo is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, who graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Rhode Island College, then earned her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from UMass Dartmouth. In 2008, she became licensed as a Mental Health Counselor.

Her career began more than a dozen years ago working at Bradley Hospital as a Lead Milieu Therapist in their Intensive Behavior Treatment (IBT) program, which treated children on the Autism spectrum and offered parent training. Bela worked in the homes of these families and in the community to teach and foster independent daily living skills. She was employed at Bradley Hospital for 9 years, and, while there, she gained experience in another outreach program, one that treated children/adolescents with emotional disturbances who were at risk of hospitalization. In that program, she learned that in order to treat a child or adolescent, a therapist must engage and treat the family as a whole.

Bela also has experience as a supervisor for home-based programs in which she trained staff and developed individual treatment plans for children/adolescents with an array of Developmental Disorders. Prior to working at Anchor Counseling Center, Bela worked as a counselor in a school setting with children diagnosed with Autism and Asperger’s, as well as co-occurring diagnoses such as Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, and PTSD.

She is fluent in Portuguese and enjoys working with that population to help them face and overcome cultural issues that may be impacting their families.

Treatment modalities that Bela specializes in are Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), behavior modification programs, and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Bela will utilize other treatment practices and interventions based on her clients’ needs. She believes strongly in validating a client’s feelings, and in offering insight and psycho-education in order for the client to reach his/her full potential.

Bela’s specialties include providing counseling in Portuguese to children, adolescents, families, and adults, as well as treating Autism Spectrum Disorders including Asperger’s, ADHD, Mood disorders, and Anxiety Disorders.  She also specializes in parent training and will work with parents within the family unit and individually to focus on their concerns and goals.