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

Dr. Deborah Gioia-Hasick is a clinician and educator whose career has centered on working with adolescents, young adults, and families facing complex mental health challenges. She earned a Master of Social Work (MSW) in 1981 and completed a PhD in 2000, training that shaped her focus on serious mental illness and vocational identity for emerging adults. Early in her practice she spent substantial time with teens and emerging adults, and she then devoted 18 years to supporting young adults with schizophrenia along with their family supports, developing group programs and monthly multi-family meetings that emphasized practical skills and family communication.

Her approach draws on structured, evidence-based techniques aimed at psychosocial education, symptom management, and rebuilding cognitive and communication skills. She also completed a year of additional training in sexual health and sex therapy at UCLA and provided couples counseling through that program. Mindfulness-based stress reduction has been a sustained interest; she has both taught and led mindfulness groups to help people manage stress and build awareness.

Since 2001 she has taught at the graduate and doctoral level, offering clinical and research instruction that includes hands-on work with CBT, DBT, and mindfulness-based treatments. She favors motivational interviewing as a collaborative stance to engage clients before beginning more targeted interventions. More recently she has pursued training in climate-focused trauma and resiliency and is interested in supporting people dealing with climate-related stress and trauma.