Hi Everyone, my name is Mary Ellen Guadagno. I am a bilingual therapist (LCSW) with over twenty years experience. My role is to serve as a guide, a GPS of sorts. You determine your destination. I simply help you turn right, left, or stay in the middle lane until you need to move.
For me, therapy is a conversation. I listen to where the conversation is taken and make the picture look like "connect the dots." I watch out for patterns that might be triggering. I watch for body language and when things get uncomfortable. A client said I untangle the knots and make things clearer and easier to handle.
I use whatever you are interested in, music, social media, movies, etc. Maybe not books, I listen to audiobooks/podcasts. Does that count as reading? No. I didn't think so. Did I mention humor is one of my approaches?
On our first session, we go through the paperwork briefly. What are you looking for? Who do you want as a therapist? If am not the right fit, please tell me. If I am, fantastic, let us continue. I ask what encouraged you to make the first appointment. Depending on what is going on, I might break down what therapy will look like in first sessions. We end with some coping skills, grounding techniques or some information on how you might feel in next few days. Of course, there is praise and validation for making it through the first session. Why? Doing anything for the first time is the hardest.
