Marisa Castro, APC
Marisa is licensed as an associate professional counselor with advanced training in cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety, depression, and personality disorders through the Beck Institute. She has completed advanced Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD training and Exposure Training for Children. She also has trained under the Peachtree DBT-C team to enhance her teaching of parenting skills for emotion regulation. Marisa provides individual and group therapy for children, adolescents and adults suffering with mood and anxiety disorders.
Marisa was born and raised in Atlantic Beach, Florida. She is a graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology, and she obtained a Master’s Degree in Counselor Education, Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Marisa’s prior work history includes a counseling and research internship at the Agape Therapy Institute in Orlando, where she treated individuals, couples, and families in an outpatient non-profit setting. She facilitated groups for mothers of young children with a focus on parenting, child development and stress management. She also treated patients at the Community Counseling and Research Center at UCF. Marisa was active on the Play Therapy Research Team, where she co-authored a module to be published on the fundamentals of building an effective playroom and engaged in presentations on the development of research in play therapy.
Marisa has special clinical interests in child development and play therapy techniques. She has an interest in working with patients suffering with OCD and other anxiety disorders by using CBT and Exposure Response Prevention (ERP). Marisa’s compassion and dedication to her patients, along with training in child development, play therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, create strong rapport and trust in treatment she provides for children and their parents. Marisa implements nondirective and directive play therapy techniques to connect with children. She meets a child where he/she is, and play therapy helps a child better understand and develop the skill of expressing and working through feelings in a language the child understands.
Marisa also has an interest in working with victims of domestic violence and the LGBTQIA+ community. She is a member of the American Counseling Association and the American Counseling Association of Georgia. In her spare time, Marisa enjoys being outdoors and reading books of all kinds, especially historical fiction. She enjoys cooking for family and friends. She also enjoys rollerblading, kickboxing, and yoga as opportunities to provide self-care and wellness.
