Janel Guinane
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
About Janel
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.
What Janel helps with
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- LGBT
- Parenting issues
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Sleeping disorders
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
Show 17 more areas
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
How Janel works
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
What clients say
- “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.”
- “Janel has helped me through a tough time and is an excellent listener and therapist.”
- “Was a therapist newbie, and Janel eased me into the practice and helped me a lot to learn more about myself. Wonderful and professional.”
Show all 15 reviews
- “Janel has helped me through a dark time and I’m very thankful for that!”
- “I really like Janel's balance between listening and offering up modalities and ideas for processing my challenges.”
- “EMDR! Great!”
- “Janel is an amazing therapist!”
- “A great, safe and secure experience and a steady, reliable insight. Thanks a lot.”
- “Still waiting to chat personally.<br /> Bit very happy so far”
- “Janel is kind, supportive and wise. She's been great to work with and I'd recommend her as a therapist.”
- “I’ve been working with Janel since July 2021. She’s very kind, understanding, compassionate, & her voice/mannerisms are very calming. I’m very fortunate to have matched with her as my first-ever therapist! Highly recommend!”
- “I liked it, i’m still new here. I will need more time to experience it all to be able to have a feedback”
- “Janel is great. She makes getting help easy and non-judgmental. I look forward to talking with her and I like thinking about our conversation after the fact. She sends me things to read and worksheets to complete that help me with different areas we discuss. She makes herself available and shows genuine care.”
- “Janel is a very compassionate partner. She makes it easy to talk about intimate and complex issues.”
- “Janel is one of the loveliest people I've met.<br /> She creates an understanding and safe space and is very easy to talk to.<br /> Another thing I loved about her is that from day 1 she wrote down notes during our sessions. This is something I didn't see other therapists do and it made me feel that she was invested in me and was making sure to do her best.”
These reviews represent a few of the most recent positive reviews from the therapist's clients on BetterHelp. Some people's experience may be different.
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