Claire Mariano-Sergus

I'm Claire, and I'm a little different from most therapists you'll find online — because I'm also a registered nurse. That means when you're dealing with chronic illness, chronic pain, a serious diagnosis, or the emotional fallout of a medical experience, I'm not just listening from the outside. I understand what it's like to navigate hospital systems, talk to specialists, manage medications, and still have to show up for your life.

I work with adults and older adults across Michigan and South Carolina via telehealth. My clients are often people who've tried to "push through" for a long time — caregivers, healthcare workers, people living with conditions that affect their daily functioning, women navigating major health or life transitions. Many of them have told me they felt like therapy was missing the medical piece. That's exactly what I bring.

My work is grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Trauma-Focused CBT, which means we look at the connection between how you think, how you feel, and what you do — and we work to shift patterns that are keeping you stuck. I also draw on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) when clients are facing chronic conditions or grief that can't simply be "fixed" — because sometimes the work is learning to live fully alongside something difficult, not just overcoming it.

I integrate mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and a strength-based lens into my sessions. My nursing background informs how I think about the body's role in mental health — I'm comfortable talking about medications, physical symptoms, medical history, and how illness shapes identity in ways that most therapists aren't trained to address.

I work with a person-first, non-judgmental approach. If faith is important to your healing, I can incorporate that too.

The first session is a conversation, not an evaluation. I'll ask about what's brought you in — what's been hard, what you've already tried, and what you're hoping might change. I'm genuinely curious about you as a whole person: your health history, your relationships, what a good week looks like versus a hard one.

I won't make you fill out a dozen questionnaires before we've even met, and I won't rush you toward a diagnosis or treatment plan on day one. By the end of the first session, you should have a clear sense of whether this feels like the right fit — and I'll give you an honest sense of what working together could look like.