Boca Raton, Florida · Telehealth statewide

Najla Sallum, LCSW

Najla Sallum, LCSW, Florida license SW19846, at Aurora Counseling and Wellness Center provides psychotherapy for adults, couples and families navigating anxiety, trauma, relationship concerns and life transitions. Care is available at 9825 Marina Boulevard, Suite 500, Boca Raton, or by telehealth anywhere in Florida, in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Najla is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and also prepares psychological evaluations for immigration proceedings.

Florida License SW19846 · Chapter 491, Florida Statutes

Inquiries are handled directly by Najla, typically within one business day.

Portrait of Najla Sallum, LCSW

Professional overview

Najla Sallum is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Florida (license SW19846) with more than fourteen years of clinical experience. Her practice concentrates on two related areas: outpatient psychotherapy with adults, couples, and families, and psychological evaluations prepared for immigration attorneys and their clients.

Clinical work is conducted in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. Language is not treated as a translation service. The interview, the formulation, and the written report are conducted in the language the client speaks most comfortably, which materially affects both the accuracy of the assessment and the credibility of the resulting documentation.

As an LCSW, Najla practices under Chapter 491 of the Florida Statutes. This scope includes psychotherapy, clinical assessment, and clinical evaluation for legal and administrative proceedings. It does not include psychological testing, ADHD testing, or autism diagnostic testing, which fall within the scope of licensed psychologists under Chapter 490. When testing is clinically indicated, referral to an appropriate specialist is offered.

Clinical philosophy

Symptoms rarely exist in isolation. They emerge within a person's developmental history, family system, cultural context, medical background, and current environment. A useful assessment accounts for these layers rather than collapsing them into a single label. A useful course of treatment follows a coherent formulation of the problem, not a rotation of unrelated techniques.

Two commitments guide the work. The first is disciplined evaluation: taking the client's reported experience seriously while examining alternative explanations, distinguishing overlapping presentations, and remaining transparent about what a given assessment can and cannot conclude. The second is professional restraint in writing. A clinical report is stronger when it is accurate and specific than when it is dramatic.

Compassion and accuracy are not competing values. Clients are met without judgment, and clinical judgment is not softened to accommodate a preferred conclusion. That combination is what makes therapy useful and what makes an evaluation defensible.

Areas of service

Immigration Psychological Evaluations

Clinical evaluations prepared for filing with USCIS petitions, immigration court, and consular processes. Covers Asylum, Extreme Hardship (I-601 / I-601A), VAWA, U-Visa, T-Visa, and Cancellation of Removal.

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Individual Therapy

Weekly or biweekly psychotherapy for adults presenting with anxiety, depression, adjustment difficulties, trauma-related symptoms, and stress associated with major life transitions.

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Couples & Family Therapy

Structured work with couples and families addressing communication patterns, conflict cycles, parenting disagreement, and repair after ruptures.

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Trauma-Informed Therapy

Therapy that recognizes how trauma shapes symptoms, relationships, and daily functioning, with pacing and structure appropriate to each person's history.

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Evaluation and therapy are different services

Clients and attorneys sometimes use these terms interchangeably. In practice they answer different questions.

Psychotherapy
An ongoing clinical relationship whose purpose is treatment. Sessions build over time and are held in confidence, with narrowly defined exceptions required by law.
Clinical assessment
The structured intake and history-taking that inform a treatment plan. Distinct from formal psychological testing.
Immigration psychological evaluation
A defined clinical evaluation conducted to answer a specific legal question. It produces a written report shared with the referring attorney and, through them, with the reviewing agency. It does not establish a treatment relationship.
Psychological testing
The administration and interpretation of standardized instruments (cognitive, personality, or diagnostic). In Florida this is the scope of licensed psychologists and is not offered here. Referrals are available where appropriate.

What clients can expect

The exact process depends on the service selected, but the general sequence is consistent. An initial inquiry establishes what you are trying to accomplish and whether the service is a good fit. Intake collects the relevant history. For evaluations, records provided by counsel are reviewed and interviews are conducted, sometimes with collateral input where appropriate. Findings are integrated into a written report. For therapy, sessions build toward defined goals with periodic review.

Timing, records requested, and deliverables vary by service and are described more specifically on each service page.

Florida LCSW #SW19846
14+ years clinical experience
English · Portuguese · Spanish
Immigration attorney referrals accepted

Frequently asked questions

Therapy is an ongoing clinical relationship focused on treatment. An immigration psychological evaluation is a defined clinical assessment conducted for a specific legal question, resulting in a written report submitted to an attorney and, through them, to the reviewing agency. The two roles use overlapping clinical skills but serve different purposes and follow different documentation standards.

No, the evaluation documents clinical findings relevant to the legal question. It does not decide the case, and no clinician can guarantee how USCIS, an immigration judge, or a consular officer will weigh the report. The clinician's obligation is accuracy, not advocacy for a predetermined conclusion.

No, psychological testing, ADHD testing, and autism testing in Florida are within the scope of licensed psychologists (Chapter 490, Florida Statutes). Najla is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker under Chapter 491 and provides clinical assessment, psychotherapy, and clinical evaluation for legal proceedings. When testing is indicated, Najla coordinates testing with licensed Florida psychologists and integrates results with clinical interview data into a written report.

Services are available in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Clinical interviews, therapy sessions, and evaluations can be conducted in any of the three.

Yes, therapy is offered in person in Boca Raton or through secure telehealth to clients located anywhere in Florida. Immigration evaluations are also available by secure video for clients throughout Florida, subject to case-specific requirements.

Any documents provided by your attorney (petition drafts, declarations, prior filings, country-conditions material), prior medical or mental health records, police or protective-order records, and identification. The referring attorney typically coordinates what is shared.

Clinical interviews generally take two to three hours and may be scheduled across more than one session when indicated. Written reports are typically completed within seven to fourteen days of the final interview. Timing can shift for complex cases or when additional records must be reviewed.

Call or send a message describing the general question you are trying to answer. If the referral is legal, the intake will confirm whether an evaluation is the right instrument and coordinate with your attorney. If the concern is clinical, the intake will confirm whether ongoing therapy is a good fit or whether a referral is more appropriate.

For therapy, the first session establishes the presenting concern, relevant history, goals, and a working plan. For evaluations, the first session begins the clinical interview, reviews consent, and confirms the scope of the report requested by counsel.

No, submitting the contact form is a scheduling inquiry. A clinical or evaluator-client relationship begins only after intake, informed consent, and confirmation that the service is appropriate for the situation.

Clinician: Najla Sallum, LCSW (Florida license SW19846). Page last updated: October 2026.

Contact the practice

Reach out to confirm whether a service is appropriate for your situation and to obtain current scheduling information. Please do not include confidential clinical, medical, immigration, or legal details in the contact form; it is intended for general scheduling inquiries.

Speak with Najla directly.

Every inquiry is reviewed personally, typically within one business day.

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