Karen Gano

Karen Gano provides straightforward support for people facing change and stress. She aims to help clients find direction, build coping skills, and move toward goals. Karen writes plainly and focuses on practical steps people can use right away.

Karen brings 33 years of clinical counseling experience to her work. She holds LCSW-C, LCSW, and CSW credentials and completed a Master of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh. Her background includes long-term work in medical and trauma settings such as emergency medicine, oncology, palliative care, and domestic abuse response.

Her approach centers on empowerment and collaboration. She combines client-centered care with motivational interviewing, mindfulness, solution-focused methods, and trauma-focused ideas to help people name priorities and try small, useful changes. Sessions emphasize clear goals, coping strategies, and strengthening self-awareness.

Many people meet with her when facing life transitions such as separation, divorce, career change, relocation, empty nest, illness, or caregiving strain. She also draws on experience with healthcare workers to address compassion fatigue and job-related stress. Work in these areas aims to expand personal resources and improve everyday functioning.

Karen uses a practical, strengths-oriented style. Conversations focus on building tools, recovering a sense of agency, and creating steps that fit day-to-day life. Her guiding idea is summed up in her mantra: Self-Care + Time = Healing.

Online approaches that focus on goals and strengths

Karen often uses client-centered work that focuses on the client's priorities and personal strengths. This approach helps people clarify what matters to them and decide on practical next steps. Mindfulness therapy is used to increase present-moment awareness and reduce stress through simple exercises and attention practices; it can help with anxiety, grief, and coping during life transitions.

Motivational interviewing is another common element of her work. It emphasizes collaboration and helps people resolve mixed feelings and move toward change at their own pace. Together, the therapist and client review goals and try small experiments to see what fits.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Karen will work collaboratively to identify which methods match a person's needs, goals, and preferences. She adjusts strategies as progress is made so the plan stays useful and realistic.

If you are considering online sessions, confirm the available session formats before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit counseling into a busy life, shorten commute time, allow brief check-ins during workday breaks, and reduce the need to travel for care. Ask about specific scheduling and format details when you sign up so sessions fit your routine.