Welcome
Embrace and Empower your mental heath



Meet the Team
Meet our team of mental health professionals that are ready to support your on your journey to healing and wellness.

Lori Brown-De Alba, MA, LMFT
Practice Owner
Licensed Mental Health Professional
Lori is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who provides therapy to adolescents, adults, couples, parents, and groups using a person-centered, relational, systemic approach while creating a safe space where clients feel heard, validated, and empowered by leading with curiosity and exploring strengths and new understanding. Lori's primary interventions focus on cognitive-behavioral therapy, attachment theory, emotionally focused therapy, structural therapy, and mindfulness practices. Her experience includes working with clients who experience challenges with neurodivergence, anxiety, depression, life transitions, relationships, parenting, and traumatic experiences. She also provides ADHD and ASD screening assessments for adolescents and adults and is a clinical supervisor for pre-licensed therapists working towards LMFT or LPCC licensure.

Katie D'Amour, MA
PREPARE/ENRICH Facilitator
Katie provides premarital counseling and is passionate about helping couples build a strong foundation for their marriage. She takes a holistic, person-centered approach, rooted in empathy, authenticity, curiosity, and compassion. Utilizing the Prepare/Enrich framework she helps couples discover new perspectives, strengthen communication, and create deeper connection so they can step into marriage with purpose, confidence, and clarity.

Nicky Arduino, MA, LAMFT
Pre-licensed Therapist
Nicky is a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist who works with teens, adults, couples, and families facing a range of challenges, including trauma, life transitions, relationship issues, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and emotion regulation. She is compassionate, collaborative, and grounded in each person's unique story. She draws from narrative therapy, attachment theory, and somatic approaches like polyvagal theory. Nicky also uses the Prepare/Enrich framework to help couples enter, maintain, or refresh their marriage with a strong foundation for building a loving, lasting future.

Gautham Krishnan, MA, LPC
Pre-licensed Therapist
Gautham is a Licensed Professional Counselor who works with adults and couples. He likes to build meaningful relationships with his clients to understand their perspective, beliefs, and views. He believes that the “personal is political”. This helps the client to shift the blame away from themselves and to bring in the context of systemic political and social structures that govern us. He uses a queer affirmative, trauma-informed, intersectional, sex positive, and fat positive lens. He has experience working with clients experiencing depression, anxiety, neurodivergence, relationship issues, eating disorders, life transitions, traumatic experiences, and those wanting to explore their gender or sexual identity.
Our Services

Program for premarital couples to strengthen relationship; 12-week curriculum with a certificate.
Premarital Education/Therapy

Biopsychosocial assessment with screening tools to support diagnostic curiosity
ADHD and ASD Screening Assessment
Blog Feed


The 90-Second Rule


Twin Cities Pride Trunk-or-Treat 2025


Is Premarital Counseling Worth It?


Circle of Control/Empowerment


Our Approach
At Embrace & Empower, we believe in a holistic approach to mental well-being. Our dedicated team tailors therapy to each client's unique needs, focusing on individual, couples, group, and family therapy. We strive to create a safe and supportive environment where healing and growth can flourish.
Resources & Tools
Check out some resources and tools to enhance your journey to mental health wellness.






