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Rebeka Mellado, LMFT
Rebeka Mellado, M.A., LMFT is a bilingual English- and Spanish-speaking licensed marriage and family therapist in California (LMFT131646) and a psychological evaluator with Afresh Immigration Psychology in San Diego. She provides immigration psychological evaluations for individuals and families involved in immigration cases, including evaluations submitted to USCIS and immigration court.
Rebeka has extensive experience working with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, including immigrant populations and individuals who have experienced trauma, abuse, interpersonal violence, family separation, migration-related stress, and other difficult life circumstances. Her clinical background includes diagnostic interviewing, psychological assessment, and the evaluation and treatment of acute, chronic, and complex trauma.
As a Spanish-speaking immigration psychological evaluator, Rebeka is able to conduct evaluations directly in both English and Spanish. Her approach combines clinical care, cultural humility, and compassion. She views it as a privilege to be invited into someone’s story, particularly during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and approaches each immigration evaluation with respect, sensitivity, and genuine care for the individual behind the story.
Spanish-Speaking I-601 & I-601A Hardship Waiver Psychological Evaluations
Professional Background
Rebeka earned her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy from Bethel University. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California with years of experience conducting clinical interviews, diagnostic assessments, and psychotherapy.
Throughout her career, Rebeka has worked with individuals and families from diverse backgrounds, including immigrant populations, active-duty military personnel, veterans, children, adolescents, and adults. Her clinical work has included assessing psychological symptoms related to trauma and differentiating between trauma-related disorders, mood disorders, and adjustment disorders using DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.
Rebeka also worked with the Union of Pan Asian Communities (UPAC), where she partnered with schools, families, and community members while providing culturally responsive mental health services to children and adolescents from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Her work included standardized diagnostic tools, clinical assessments, and evidence-based treatment approaches.
Training and Expertise in Trauma
Bilingual Spanish Immigration Evaluation
Rebeka has extensive clinical experience working with individuals affected by acute, chronic, and complex trauma. Her work has included evaluating the psychological effects of interpersonal violence, abuse, systemic trauma, migration, acculturation stress, and other major life stressors.
Her specialized training includes Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Trauma-Informed Care, Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Motivational Interviewing, diagnosis and case conceptualization, crisis care, and suicide assessment and management. She has also completed specialized training in conducting immigration psychological evaluations and expert report writing.
In addition to her clinical work, Rebeka serves as an associate professor in the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Point Loma Nazarene University, where she teaches psychology and child development courses through a trauma-informed and culturally sensitive lens.
Experience With Trauma and Diverse Populations
Rebeka has extensive experience working with individuals from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, including immigrant and marginalized communities. Her clinical experience includes working with individuals who have experienced trauma, interpersonal violence, abuse, displacement, cultural stress, and other complex life circumstances.
She has completed formal training in cultural competency and culturally responsive mental health care, including the Cultural Competency Academy and additional diversity-focused continuing education. Rebeka is bilingual in English and Spanish, allowing her to conduct psychological evaluations directly with Spanish-speaking clients.
Rebeka approaches each immigration psychological evaluation with an understanding that trauma and psychological distress occur within a broader cultural, family, and social context. Her goal is to provide evaluations that are clinically thorough and useful for immigration attorneys and legal proceedings while ensuring that each individual feels heard, respected, and treated with dignity throughout the evaluation process.
Hardship Waiver Immigration
Psychological Evaluations
Evaluación Psicológica Para el Perdón I-601A
Rebeka Mellado, LMFT specializes in immigration psychological evaluations for Extreme Hardship Waivers, including I-601 and I-601A hardship waiver cases. As a bilingual English- and Spanish-speaking therapist in San Diego, Rebeka conducts evaluations directly in either English or Spanish, allowing Spanish-speaking individuals and families to describe their experiences in the language in which they feel most comfortable.
Her extreme hardship psychological evaluations are designed to document the emotional and psychological impact that family separation or relocation may have on a qualifying U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member. These evaluations can provide detailed clinical documentation for attorneys preparing I-601 and I-601A immigration waiver cases. Current immigration-evaluation resources similarly describe these evaluations as focusing on the psychological impact on the qualifying relative and on hardship associated with separation or relocation.
For Spanish-speaking clients, Rebeka provides evaluaciones psicológicas para inmigración y perdones por dificultad extrema (I-601 e I-601A) with a culturally sensitive and compassionate approach. Her goal is to provide a thorough, clinically grounded evaluation while ensuring that each person feels understood, respected, and able to communicate their story clearly in Spanish or English.
These clinical assessments are designed to capture the psychological impacts of trauma, abuse, or the potential for family separation within legal contexts. Every evaluation concludes with a comprehensive report written specifically for formal immigration proceedings.
Schedule an Evaluation
If you are an immigration attorney seeking an evaluation for a client, or an individual pursuing an immigration petition, you can contact our office to schedule an immigration psychological evaluation.
Our team will respond promptly to coordinate scheduling and answer any questions about the evaluation process.