Dr. Deborah Gioia-Hasick, LCSW, MD, LCSW-C

Dr. Deborah Gioia-Hasick brings a long and focused career to her clinical work, combining early hands-on practice with years of teaching and specialized training. She earned her MSW in 1981 and completed clinical licensing shortly thereafter, then spent 18 years working closely with young adults diagnosed with schizophrenia and the family supports around them. That experience shaped her understanding of serious mental illness and reinforced the importance of team-based, individualized care. She led groups for young adults and coordinated monthly multi-family meetings, emphasizing psychosocial education, symptom management, and rebuilding communication and cognitive skills.

She pursued a year of additional training in sexual health and sex therapy at UCLA and provided couples counseling through that program. Her ongoing interest in mindfulness led her to train in and teach mindfulness-based stress reduction methods, which she has applied in both classroom and group settings. After completing a PhD in 2000 with a dissertation on the meaning of work for young adults with schizophrenia, she began teaching master’s and doctoral students in 2001, offering clinical instruction in evidence-based treatments such as CBT, DBT, and MBSR.

Dr. Gioia-Hasick favors motivational interviewing as a guiding philosophy to support client readiness before moving into more targeted interventions. She has a strong interest in vocational identity and helping young adults pursue personal goals related to work. More recently she has completed training in climate-focused trauma and resiliency and welcomes clients whose concerns relate to climate impacts. Credentials noted in her background include MSW (Master of Social Work), PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), and clinical licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - LCSW and LCSW-C, which indicate clinical social work certification and advanced clinical licensure.