Susan L. Dascenzi
I believe that EVERY person is the expert of their own life, but, sometimes, current (or past) life experiences get in the way of managing those day-to-day challenges and create traumas, stresses, and feelings that make it hard to cope. I believe that it is every person's birthright to live the life they desire, the way that best suits them, and in a way that creates a deep feeling of worth and value... every day. Yet, conditioning often gets in the way of achieving that feeling. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 27 years in the social service field, I have extensive experience in providing individual, couple, family, and group therapy to a diverse clientele. From outpatient and inpatient settings, to private practice, corrections, and Veteran Affairs settings, I am passionate in assisting clients to become self-empowered and manage their issues/challenges as a partner in healing. I believe in utilizing the therapeutic process to offer tools and skills the client can take home and apply from each session without using some cookie-cutter formula.
First session
We will talk and get to know each other a little - I'm a different kind of therapist in that we are truly partners in this healing space, and so I will share briefly a bit about who I am and why I do what I do. Then we'll dive in, as you feel comfortable, with what brought you to me and we'll begin uncovering the issues that are important to partner together to work on. I will always offer tools and skills you can take away from each session, and sometimes offer what I call "Thought Assignments" to ponder upon, or write out, or record for yourself. This is your therapy and your journey... I will be a guide, mirror, and confidant for you to explore with and we will begin even in this first session.
Strengths
Having experienced traumas in my own life, having had suicidal thoughts when I was 28 and nearly following through, having found that being vulnerable to myself and others was the key to my healing, I sought out great therapists, mentors, coaches, and friends who could hold a space for me to explore. And then it dawned on me that what I'd been "doing" my whole life was actually a profession I could train in and thus I went back to school to obtain the necessary education and license to share my tried and true principles that I'd been living and understanding from a young age - even through the traumas and even when I became confused how to shift my own perspectives. This then became my personal mission - to assist others into finding their root causes, removing the roots, reclaiming their personal power, and understanding their inherent infinite nature and set of possibilities so each person could learn to live the vision and life THEY wanted and not one born from their past conditioning, or person, that said they "should be" that way, or are "supposed to" act, think, or feel some way. So, truly, my greatest strengths are that I always hold an empathic, empathetic, intuitive, and pure space for your highest exploration, discovery, recovery, and uncovery so that YOU can ultimately CHOOSE to become who you were truly meant to be, doing what you were meant to do, and living a life that suits YOU and not someone else.
Ideal clients
Welcome... I'm Susan Dascenzi and I can honestly say that it's nice to "meet you," because, while we haven't "met formally yet," you are here reading this, and this means that you are searching for that something that will assist you on your path to freedom from the challenges that brought you here. And because this is a deeply held belief I operate my life from, that every human being is a unique and individual being, I believe the therapy process is the same. I deeply believe that assisting you in identifying and achieving your goals is a partnering, together, and therefore utilize a variety of approaches to assist each person - again, not some cookie-cutter formula or notion to follow. As an interactive therapist, I specialize in addressing issues related to Trauma and PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Stress Management, Substance Abuse/Use and Addictions, Self-Esteem, Confidence, and Worth, Sexual Trauma and Dysfunction, Emotional Abuse, Conflict Resolution and Communication Issues (whether in individual relationships or with the family unit), Workplace Issues, Anger Management, Life Transitions, and Couples. My specialized training in guided imagery work allows me to utilize very specific and specialized techniques and tools that assist each person in removing the emotional and physical blocks that prevent them from living their true potential and uncovering the root cause of their issue. My holistic approach to the restoration and maintenance of health and balance provides a genuinely compassionate and empathetic environment where my clients say they feel free to "open into the issues without judgment or fear."
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I am a strong believer that the power of our thoughts, and our past conditioning, gives rise to our behaviors that often don't match what our hearts want or our vision is. And I have found, over the last 28 years, that diving into understanding how our thoughts and beliefs are created and put into place, and how it then creates these unwanted feelings and behaviors, then fosters an environment whereby we can begin to change the narrative.
Humanistic
Every human being is worthy and valuable... period. It does not matter what background you hail from, what choices you've made, or how you got to where you are now - only that you are willing to change that which no longer serves you. And utililzing humanistic perspectives allows me to assist you in finding your true potential, worth, value, and awareness that you can truly learn to love yourself and accept all that you choose to be, regardless of your past. We journey this therapeutic realm together in a beautiful dance of self-discovery.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
As I have had the honor to walk this path as a therapist for over 28 years, I have found that focusing entirely on you, and assisting you in seeing the beauty I see from day one, is key to you discovering that your inherent nature is not one of your thoughts and feelings and the past, but rather the infinite possibilities within you to envision the life you choose versus living the life you were "conditioned" to live. This person-centered focus allows us to be partners in your journey as you explore your growth and self-realizations that serve you in the highest versus me "telling" you some cookie-cutter "method" that may or may not be in your highest good.
Mind-body approach
I believe that we are more than our physical and mental/emotional bodies - we are an embodiment of all that we have experienced. And, sometimes, those meanings become twisted and confusing and rob us of our power to live the version of ourselves we truly desire. Through the grace I am given to work with those seeking that deeper embodiment of who they truly are, we can bring to the surface that which is holding you back, and may even be stored in your physical and emotional/mental bodies in harmful ways - effectively finding and removing the root causes. This has been an incredibly successful approach throughout my career because we are uncovering the roots versus utilizing techniques that only allow us to deal with the symptoms and management of unwanted behaviors.
Trauma-Focused CBT
As a 6x Sexual Assault survivor myself, who learned to go from barely surviving to thriving to being simply an "experiencer" now, I understand, first-hand, what trauma does to the emotional, mental, psychological, physical, and spiritual bodies of each of us - regardless of what trauma you've experienced. Understanding that anything can be considered trauma from a stored place in the mind and body, I have utilized a trauma-focused approach with every client through my career with great success in aiding them to understand and accept themselves from deeper levels of self-love and self-worth versus becoming their traumatic experiences and finding those experiences now define them. Trauma is something we all have dealt with on varying levels and we truly can learn to walk WITH the past experiences versus being defined BY them.
Location
Virtual sessions