01 · Who Karen works with

Karen works with relationship issues, trauma and abuse and grief

Karen lists 15 specialisms and 16 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Karen chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Karen's own words

What Karen says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." ~ Anais Nin

Hello. My name is Karen Gano, and I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in New Mexico, Colorado, Maine, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Australia. I received my Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh, and I have over 30 years of clinical counseling experience.

My specialty is what I call Empowerment Counseling. I have a Motivational Interviewing style, and I use Compassion-Focused, Client-Centered, Solution Focused Brief (SFBT), Mindfulness, and Strength Based therapies to assist clients in improving their outlook and life. I have a holistic and goal oriented practice, working primarily with women who are going through some type of life transition whether it be separation, divorce, career changes, relocation, empty nest, illness, etc. I also provide counseling to healthcare workers as I have been a practicing medical social worker throughout my career, and I have worked in trauma, emergency medicine, critical care, oncology, palliative care, and domestic abuse.

We can all benefit from talking to someone now and again. It is my primary goal to empower clients so that they can build and expand their "team," discover their voice, increase self-awareness and esteem, and make wanted changes in their life. My professional and personal mantra is "Self-Care + Time = Healing." I can help you with healthy coping strategies and tools to guide you from surviving to thriving.

I very much look forward to working with you!

Karen Gano, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Karen works

The 5 approaches Karen lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Karen lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Karen's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Karen runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Karen practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Karen's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Karen at this point.

2. Naming Karen specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Karen is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Karen.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Karen

Built from what Karen actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Karen's - Karen has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 33 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCSW

Licensed in

New Mexico

Licence

ME LCSW LC21694, MD LCSW-C 27193

Licence number

C-09421

Licence expires

1 Jul 2027

NPI

1336720440

Years in practice

33

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Karen's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Karen. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.