Cristina Primerano
If you've been holding it together for a while and know something needs to shift, I can help you figure out what that looks like. I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 11 years of experience, licensed in New Jersey, Oregon, and Vermont. I work with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and life transitions.
I use evidence-based approaches like CBT, trauma-informed care, and mindfulness-based techniques, but I adapt everything to what makes sense for you.
My approach draws mainly on CBT and trauma-informed care, with mindfulness and other tools depending on what's useful for you. Some sessions are about building concrete coping skills. Others are slower: working through something hard, or looking at a pattern that's been running your life without much scrutiny. I won't hand you generic advice or push goals that aren't yours. My job is helping you see what you're already capable of, challenge the thinking that keeps you stuck, and build toward a life that actually fits. You're the expert on your own life. I bring the clinical tools.
First session
Starting therapy is uncertain territory. You might not know what to say or whether it'll help. The first session isn't about having it figured out, it's just a chance to meet. Beforehand, you'll fill out a few forms: consent, privacy, a short intake questionnaire. Not exciting, but it gives me a starting point. We'll cover confidentiality, insurance, and logistics early on so the practical stuff is out of the way. When we meet, you can start wherever feels right, a specific issue, a vague sense something's off, or "I'm not sure." From there we'll talk through what's going on: your routine, relationships, stressors, whatever seems relevant. My questions are meant to understand your situation, not interrogate you. I'll also check in on safety, whether anything urgent is going on, so we know what kind of support you need right now. I'll say a bit about how I work: mainly CBT and trauma-informed approaches, with other tools depending on what fits. Therapy is collaborative. You bring the experience, I bring perspective and structure. Toward the end we'll talk next steps: how often to meet, what to focus on first, anything to try in between. You don't need to walk in with anything sorted out. My job is to understand what's going on, not judge it. First session is just a start.
Strengths
One thing clients tend to notice is that I pay attention to what's underneath what someone's saying, not just the words. I meet people where they're at, not where I think they should be, which tends to get people talking honestly instead of performing. I stay steady when things get heavy. If a session brings up something chaotic or intense, I don't get pulled into that energy, I stay level enough to actually think clearly and help, rather than just reacting alongside you. I'm also down to earth. I talk in plain language, not jargon, and I can take a complicated idea from psychology or research and connect it to your actual, everyday life, your relationships, your work, whatever you're dealing with. Sophisticated doesn't have to mean complicated.
Ideal clients
My ideal clients are people ready to be honest with themselves, even if they're not sure yet what they need. A lot of them have been coping for a long time and something's telling them it's time for that to change: anxiety, disconnection, old patterns that stopped working. Some are in the middle of a transition, a breakup, a career change, a loss, or just the realization that the way they've been living doesn't fit anymore. I work best with people who want to understand themselves, not just get a quick fix. "I keep ending up in the same situations" is a familiar sentence. They're curious about why, even when that's uncomfortable, and they're willing to sit with some uncertainty before things get clearer. They also tend to be people who've spent years taking care of everyone else and lost track of their own needs, or who are dealing with burnout or trauma and are stuck between wanting change and being afraid of it. They don't need me to sugarcoat anything. They want someone honest and grounded, and they're willing to do the harder, slower work instead of settling for surface-level coping strategies.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT is used to implement behavioral change and see fast and lasting results.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
ACT is used to creatively address behaviors that don't serve us.
Supportive
Supportive counseling is used to ensure that clients have non judgemental unconditional positive regard when working on sensitive issues in therapy.
Motivational Interviewing
MI is used to identify and resolve ambivalence around big life decisions.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Woman
Top specialties
Anxiety
Codependency
Depression
Other specialties
Anger Management
Chronic Illness / Medical Issues
Coping Skills
Health/Medical Issues
Men's Issues
Older Adults
Peer Relationships
Physical Health Condition
Spirituality
Substance Misuse
Serves
Adults (18 to 64)
Elders (65 and above)
Woman
Doesn't specialize in
Couples Counseling
Family Therapy
Licensed in
New JerseyLicense 44SC06109400
OregonLicense L10312
VermontLicense 089.0135977