Therapist Janel Guinane Photo

Janel Guinane, LCSW

Stress, Anxiety Addictions Parenting issues Self esteem, Motivation Depression
Video Phone Live Chat Messaging

About me

My career in the helping professions started in 1997 at a residential program in San Francisco working with adults with substance use issues and co-occurring mental health disorders. At this time, one did not need a degree in substance use counseling to work in this area and I was able to gain a great deal of experience. This launched a long road of determination to attain a Bachelor's degree in Social Work in 2008 and then a Master's in Social Work in 2010. Throughout my educational years and afterward, I worked with several different populations such as children, teens, TAY, former foster youth, homeless youth, adults with mental illness, homeless adults, and those arrested for alcohol and/or drug related offenses. I am currently a Program Manager of a Clinic that assesses individuals with mental health disorders for County treatment services as well as a homeless day respite center that connects unhoused persons with housing, food, healthcare, etc. My treatment approach is one that is Client-Centered, Strength's-Based, and Humanistic. I utilize Motivational Interviewing to gain knowledge into my Client's perspective and objectives. I believe that every person in an expert in their own life and that I act only as a guide and collaborator to help my clients reach their goals and enrich their lives. I have had experiences working with those with depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, eating disorders, PTSD, schizophrenia and various other conditions. My goal is to work with the client on their goals and not to give advice, which I find is less than effective. Many times individuals already know what they need and are seeking guidance, clarity, and the care of someone to be authentic and responsive to those needs.

Professional experience

10yrs in practice
Stress, Anxiety Addictions Parenting issues Self esteem, Motivation Depression

Additional areas of focus: LGBT, Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Trauma and abuse, Eating disorders, Anger management, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Coping with life changes, Coaching, Compassion fatigue, Body image, Caregiver issues and stress, Codependency, Communication problems, Control issues, Coping with natural or human-caused disaster

Clinical approaches: Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy

Services offered

Video
Phone
Live Chat
Messaging

License information

CA LCSW 70118

Reviews

These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Janel Guinane. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.

Janel is a caring and compassionate therapist with a wealth of insight into trauma, addiction, and relationship issues. I saw her for a year and a half for grief counseling following a loss in my family, ensuing family issues involving addiction, and PTSD related to sexual trauma. She always made me feel listened to, asked thoughtful questions that helped me process and reframe my thoughts and feelings, and gave me a ton of support and empowerment as I focused on healing and growing. We agreed to do some EMDR sessions for my PTSD, which helped me make a lot of progress. She is an absolutely wonderful therapist who I would recommend to everyone.

Written on Jan 19, 2023 after therapy with Janel for 1 year and 5 months on issues concerning family conflicts, grief, and coping with life changes

Janel has helped me through a tough time and is an excellent listener and therapist.

Written on Dec 19, 2022 after therapy with Janel for 1 year and 3 months on issues concerning lgbt, relationship issues, and self esteem

Was a therapist newbie, and Janel eased me into the practice and helped me a lot to learn more about myself. Wonderful and professional.

Written on Aug 13, 2022 after therapy with Janel for 3 months on issues concerning lgbt, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, and self esteem

I really like Janel's balance between listening and offering up modalities and ideas for processing my challenges.

Written on Jul 19, 2022 after therapy with Janel for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, sleeping disorders, self esteem, anger management, coping with life changes, coaching, and compassion fatigue

EMDR! Great!

Written on Jul 08, 2022 after therapy with Janel for 1 month on issues concerning stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, eating disorders, and self esteem

Janel is an amazing therapist!

Written on Jun 23, 2022 after therapy with Janel for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, parenting issues, self esteem, anger management, career difficulties, coping with life changes, coa