ABOUT THE PRACTICE
A PhD-Led Mental Health Private Practice Built on Clinical Expertise
Ana Sierra Counseling / Consejeria, PLLC is a Washington, D.C.-based mental health firm providing comprehensive immigration evaluations, mental health services, and professional consulting & coaching for mental health clinicians and organizations. The practice operates across five states, DC, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, and Florida, with affiliated clinicians also serving New Jersey.
Our services and evaluations are available in English and Spanish, provided directly by our bilingual clinical team. We also serve clients in Arabic, Russian, French, and Ukrainian through professional interpreters, ensuring that language is never a barrier to accessing care.
Meet the Founder
Dr. Ana Sierra, PhD, LPC, LCPC, NCC
Founder & Executive Director
Dr. Ana Sierra is a bilingual licensed mental health professional, trauma expert, international consultant, and speaker with more than 20 years of experience across clinical, governmental, nonprofit, and international settings. She holds a Ph.D. in International Psychology with a specialization in Trauma Services, a master’s degree in Clinical Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Latino/a Mental Health, and bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Political Science.
For more than 15 years, Dr. Sierra has conducted psychological evaluations for immigration matters, including asylum, VAWA, U visa, T visa, SIJS, cancellation of removal, and extreme-hardship cases. Her trauma-informed and culturally responsive approach is grounded in extensive experience serving adults, children, and families affected by trauma, migration, abuse, human trafficking, and other forms of adversity. She also serves as a subject matter expert and expert witness for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Dr. Sierra is licensed in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Texas, and Florida and is a National Certified Counselor. In addition to her clinical work, she partners with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, healthcare systems, educational institutions, and international entities to strengthen trauma-informed practices, workforce wellness, cultural responsiveness, and services for vulnerable populations. She is committed to expanding equitable access to high-quality, culturally informed mental health services.
National Certified Counselor (NCC)
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in DC, VA, MD, TX, and FL.
Our Clinical Team
At Ana Sierra Counseling / Consejería, PLLC, our diverse team of bilingual mental health professionals is committed to providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and evidence-based care. Our clinicians bring specialized expertise in psychological assessment, immigration-related evaluations, trauma, and multicultural mental health, with extensive experience serving individuals, families, and communities from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Suleika Velez-Diaz
Immigration Evaluation Specialist & Clinical Therapist
Suleika Vélez-Díaz, M.A., a native of Puerto Rico, is a mental health professional with a multidisciplinary background in counseling psychology, communications, public relations, and labor relations. She earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, and completed her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology at The Chicago School. Her diverse training strengthens her ability to understand clients within their cultural, interpersonal, occupational, and community contexts.
With more than seven years of experience in the mental health field, Suleika has worked with children, adults, families, healthcare professionals, and diverse communities. Her experience includes providing animal-assisted therapy to children with special needs and serving as a Health Consultant in Puerto Rico, where she delivered educational presentations to patients and medical professionals regarding the appropriate use of medical cannabis. She has also collaborated with licensed physicians to provide community education on medications used to address physiological and mental health conditions.
Suleika currently provides individual therapy and conducts comprehensive clinical assessments, including immigration-related psychological evaluations. She approaches evaluations with cultural sensitivity, clinical insight, and careful attention to the psychological effects of trauma, separation, hardship, and immigration-related stress. In addition, she facilitates mental health workshops, psychoeducational presentations, and community-based initiatives.
.jpeg)
Tabatha Ortiz
Immigration Evaluation Specialist & Clinical Therapist
Tabatha, M.A., a native of Ecuador, is a mental health professional with a multidisciplinary background in psychology, criminal justice, and forensic psychology. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Rutgers University and her Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology from The Chicago School. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in International Psychology, further strengthening her expertise in culturally responsive practice, global mental health, and cross-cultural trauma.
As a master’s-level clinician, Tabatha provides psychotherapy, case management, and comprehensive mental health assessments, including clinical evaluations for immigration-related cases. Her training in forensic psychology supports a careful, evidence-informed approach to evaluating trauma, psychological functioning, safety concerns, and the effects of immigration-related stress and hardship. She also has experience supporting international training initiatives focused on trauma and violence prevention throughout Latin America.
Beyond her clinical and assessment work, Tabatha has co-facilitated community events with the Latina Healing Institute centered on healing, empowerment, and mental wellness within Latina communities. Fluent in English and Spanish, she brings cultural humility and a trauma-informed perspective to her work with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Her professional interests include forensic assessment, cross-cultural trauma, international psychology, and culturally responsive care. She is also an active member of the American Counseling Association.
Cecilia Peraza, LCSW
Immigration Evaluation Specialist & Clinical Social Worker
Cecilia Peraza, LCSW, a native of El Salvador, is an experienced bilingual clinician and immigration psychological evaluator who serves as a vital pillar of our immigration evaluation services in New Jersey. With 18 years of experience in social work and behavioral health, she brings extensive clinical knowledge, cultural sensitivity, and a deep understanding of the complex emotional and psychological experiences that often accompany immigration cases.
Committed to the highest standards of clinical care, Cecilia has completed advanced training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at New York University. Her strong clinical foundation allows her to conduct comprehensive, trauma-informed evaluations with careful attention to each client’s history, symptoms, family relationships, cultural background, and present circumstances. She approaches every evaluation with professionalism, compassion, and respect, helping clients feel safe and supported while sharing deeply personal and often painful experiences.
Cecilia conducts immigration-related psychological evaluations for individuals and families navigating matters involving asylum, extreme hardship, VAWA, U visas, T visas, and other humanitarian immigration petitions. Her evaluations clearly document the psychological effects of trauma, violence, separation, displacement, and immigration-related stress, providing attorneys with clinically sound and thoughtfully prepared reports that can strengthen their clients’ cases. Through her work, Cecilia provides the New Jersey community with accessible, culturally responsive, and highly experienced clinical support.
Luis OCampo
Immigration Evaluation Specialist & Clinical Therapist
Luis Ocampo, LGPC, NCC, a native of Paraguay, holds master’s degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School, where he is currently a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology. He is an experienced immigration evaluation specialist with expertise in conducting comprehensive, culturally responsive psychological assessments for immigration matters. His broader clinical experience includes psychotherapy, crisis intervention, case management, and mental health assessments across community, hospital, and outpatient settings.
Grounded in psychodynamic and interpersonal theories, he also integrates cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness, and humanistic approaches to understand each client’s experiences within their cultural and relational context.
A U.S. military veteran, Luis brings a compassionate, collaborative, and strengths-based perspective to his work with adolescents and adults. He is particularly committed to serving immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, Spanish-speaking communities, and historically underserved populations navigating trauma, identity, culture, and belonging.
His doctoral research examines the long-term effects of shame-based parenting on identity, self-esteem, and attachment among gay Latino men. Through both clinical care and immigration evaluations, Luis creates a respectful, nonjudgmental environment in which clients feel seen, understood, and empowered to share their experiences.
Why Work With Us
PhD-Led Practice
Every evaluation, supervision session, and consulting engagement is led or directly overseen by Dr. Sierra. Clients and attorneys don't work with junior staff or delegated clinicians, they work with a firm where doctoral-level expertise is present throughout the process, not just in the title. Dr. Sierra's PhD in International Psychology with specialization in trauma services represents the credential depth that now strengthens immigration cases.
Multi-State Licensure
Licensed across DC, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, and Florida with active partnerships expanding clinical capacity. We're building strategic partnerships in additional states—like our collaboration with immigration evaluation specialist Cecilia Peraza, LCSW in New Jersey. This multi-state infrastructure supports both state and federal immigration proceedings, serving clients across the country for federal immigration matters without state-line complications.
Bilingual & Culturally Competent Care
Our services and evaluations are available in English and Spanish, provided directly by our bilingual clinical team. We also serve clients in Arabic, Russian, French, and Ukrainian through professional interpreters, ensuring that language is never a barrier to accessing care. Cultural competency is built into how every evaluation is conducted and every clinical report is written, drawing on our clinical team's direct professional experience working with Latinx, immigrant, and multicultural populations nationally and internationally.
Trusted Reputation for Clinical Excellence
For more than a decade, Ana Sierra Counseling / Consejería, PLLC has earned the trust of clients, attorneys, organizations, and community partners throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area and beyond. Our reputation is built on clinical excellence, cultural competence, professionalism, and a commitment to delivering high-quality services with integrity and compassion.
Let's Start the Conversation
Whether you're a leader seeking to strengthen your organization, a clinician looking to expand your expertise, an attorney in need of high-quality immigration evaluations, or an individual seeking mental healthcare. we are here to help. Our team partners with organizations, professionals, and legal teams to deliver expert consultation, training, assessments, and tailored solutions that meet your unique needs. Contact us today to discuss how we can support your goals.