Meet Our Team!

Deborah Brooks, LMHC, CT-R

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Deborah Brooks has dedicated her 17-year professional career to serving individuals suffering from grief and loss. Over her years of working primarily with families dealing with the after effects of a death, Deborah recognized her calling and commitment to connect with others by providing support and help in healing to people that have been through traumatic life events. She believes “every human has the power to change” and Deborah brings great passion and experience to her role with The Life Center. A Master’s level educated and fully licensed mental health clinician, Deborah is also a credentialed Thanatologist, dedicated to understanding how death and loss impacts individuals and their communities, with the desire to better serve them. She is also trained in ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy) which is a brief trauma therapy used to assist with symptoms of PTS.

Sheryle R. Baker, M.A., LMHC

SR. THERAPIST

Sheryle R. Baker, M.A., LMHC, worked as the Executive Director of The LIFE Center for the past 32 years as a bereavement psychotherapist, consultant and clinical supervisor of mental health graduate students and interns from U.S.F., Nova and Argosy Universities. Sheryle trained with international Death and Dying author and psychiatrist, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Sheryle is certified in EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocess therapy), an evidenced based therapy that helps reduce post-traumatic stress reactions and intrusive images. She is also trained in A.R.T. (Accelerated Resolution Therapy), a brief-oriented trauma therapy which Sheryle utilizes with Military veterans who suffer from PTSD. She has presented hundreds of local and national lectures and workshops on Healing through Grief and Traumatic Loss, Psychological First Aid and Art & Imagery in Death & Dying Counseling with Children. Sheryle is certified by the Red Cross Mental Health Disaster Team as a trauma consultant and therapist. She has completed numerous training in Critical Incident Stress Management and is a Victim Services Practitioner through the Office of the Attorney General and the VOCA program (Victim of Crime Act) State of Florida. Sheryle has provided trauma incident consultations to businesses and corporations throughout Tampa Bay for the past 15 years. Her honors include: Executive Director of the Year Finalist through ESCOT; Victims Services Award from The Office of Justice Department, Washington, D.C. Sheryle was recently honored in April 2014 with the Medical Hero Award in Mental Health sponsored by the Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce. In 2013, Sheryle received the Purple Heart Award from the Florida Network for Victim/Witness Services (FNYWS) for her work with victims of crime.

Ana Iosipan,Ph.D., LMFT, LMHC, MCAP

BILINGUAL THERAPIST

Dr. Ana Elizabeth Iosipan offers bilingual psychotherapy services for individuals, couples, families, children, adolescents, and adults, as well as to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members of our community. She has also worked extensively with grieving, trauma, victims of crime, depression, relationships, anxiety, domestic violence, and substance abuse. In addition to being bilingual, fluent in English and Spanish, Dr. Iosipan has extensive experience in providing therapy for multicultural issues, immigration Bio-Psychosocial and mental health evaluations. Dr. Iosipan’s approach focuses on collaboration and creating a therapeutic alliance in a safe environment so you can work together to find effective solutions.

La Dra. Ana Elizabeth Iosipan ofrece servicios de psicoterapia bilingüe para individuos, parejas, familias, niños, adolescentes y adultos, así como para miembros gay, lesbianas, bisexuales y transexuales de nuestra comunidad. También ha trabajado extensamente con duelo, trauma, víctimas de crimen, depresión, relaciones, ansiedad, violencia doméstica y abuso de sustancias. Además de ser bilingüe, habla inglés y español con fluidez, la Dr. Iosipan tiene una amplia experiencia en brindar terapia para problemas multiculturales, evaluaciones bio-psicosociales y de salud mental de inmigración. El enfoque de la Dr. Iosipan se centra en la colaboración y la creación de una alianza terapéutica en un entorno seguro para que puedan trabajar juntos para encontrar soluciones efectivas.

Dr. Ana Iosipan can be reached by:

WhatsApp or Facetime +502 4081-8801

Skype: elizabetapeta

Or clicking this link: https://doxy.me/driosipan

Or email: drana@anagoesbanana.com

Bailey McConnell

Administrative Assistant

My name is Bailey McConnell and I am the administrative assistant here at the Life Center. I am focused on building a safe and open environment for adults, teens, families, and couples. I believe in creating a non-judgmental environment for individuals to explore their unique situations. I am currently enrolled in University of South Florida’s Rehabilitation and Mental Health counseling program. I have earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Minor in Behavioral Healthcare from the University of South Florida. I love being able to lend an empathetic ear to hear about each individual’s journey.