Janel Guinane, LCSW

Janel Guinane is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensed in California with ten years of clinical experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, addiction, parenting struggles, self-esteem and depression. She also addresses trauma and abuse, relationship and family concerns, eating issues, anger, career questions, bipolar disorder, and coping with life changes.

She draws on client-centered and strengths-based ideas in sessions. That means the conversation focuses on the person's goals and current priorities. Motivational Interviewing is part of how she finds out what matters to the individual and what might move them toward change.

Janel has a long history in community mental health and substance use care that began in residential programs in San Francisco. Over the years she has worked with people across many situations including youth who experienced homelessness, adults with mental health and substance use challenges, and those involved in the justice system. That background informs how she approaches practical problems and systems-level barriers.

In practice she positions herself as a collaborator rather than an advisor. Sessions tend to identify clear goals, look at small steps that help, and use solution-focused and cognitive behavioral approaches when helpful. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is also listed among her approaches for trauma work.

People who choose her can expect straightforward conversation about what is getting in the way and what realistic next steps look like. She also pays attention to caregiver stress, body image, codependency, communication issues, and coping after disasters. The emphasis is on workable strategies and steady problem solving, not on giving directive advice.

How Janel uses approaches in online work