Karen Gano, LCSW-C, LCSW, CSW

Karen Gano greets people with a calm, practical approach to big life changes. She focuses on helping people who are facing transitions, grief, stress, or struggles with mood and relationships. Karen uses straightforward conversation to help people identify goals and take small, doable steps forward.

Karen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in multiple states and brings 33 years of experience to her practice. She calls her method Empowerment Counseling and leans on motivational interviewing to help people find their own direction. Her work also draws on client-centered, mindfulness, solution-focused, trauma-focused, and strength-based ideas so sessions can be tailored to a person’s needs.

Many people seek her help for separation and divorce, caregiver stress, illness and end-of-life planning, loneliness, and midlife shifts. She also supports those coping with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, addictions, and workplace compassion fatigue. In sessions she aims to increase self-awareness, strengthen coping skills, and support clearer decision making.

Karen previously worked as a medical social worker in settings such as emergency medicine, oncology, critical care, palliative care, and domestic abuse services. That background informs practical tools for stress management and grief work without losing focus on each person’s priorities.

Her sessions emphasize doable strategies, self-care, and steady progress. People who want a collaborative, goal-oriented conversation about change and healing often find this style helpful.

How therapeutic approaches guide online work

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and reflecting so people feel heard and can discover their own solutions; it helps when someone needs a nonjudgmental space to sort feelings and priorities. Motivational interviewing is a collaborative way to uncover what matters most and boost readiness for change, which works well for life transitions, addiction, or career moves. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce stress and manage anxiety or mood symptoms.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work itself. Karen will collaborate with each person to pick methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences. That means experimenting and adjusting over time so sessions feel useful and realistic for daily life.

Practical benefits of online therapy include easier fitting of appointments into a busy schedule, shorter check-ins when needed, and options for people who prefer not to travel. This profile does not specify which session formats are offered, so confirm current session options before booking. Online work can make it simpler to use tools between sessions, practice mindfulness exercises, and apply new coping strategies where they actually live and work.