Karen Gano , MD, LCSW-C, LCSW, CSW

"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

Karen Gano is a seasoned clinician whose work blends empowerment, practical skills, and deep clinical experience. She holds an MD and multiple social work credentials - LCSW-C, LCSW, and CSW - and earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh. With 33 years of clinical counseling experience, she has developed a holistic, goal-oriented approach that centers on helping people make meaningful changes in their lives.

Her practice is often described as Empowerment Counseling, drawing on Motivational Interviewing, client-centered techniques, solution-focused brief therapy, mindfulness, compassion-focused methods, and strength-based work. Karen frequently supports women navigating life transitions such as separation, divorce, career changes, relocation, empty nest, and illness. She also brings extensive experience as a medical social worker, having worked in trauma, emergency medicine, critical care, oncology, palliative care, and domestic abuse settings, and she offers support for healthcare workers facing professional stress and compassion fatigue.

Karen focuses on increasing self-awareness, building coping skills, and helping people move from surviving to thriving. Her professional mantra is "Self-Care + Time = Healing," and her practice emphasizes practical strategies, personal strengths, and collaborative goal-setting to expand each person’s resources and resilience.