Giovanni De Stefano, MA, LCMHCA, LCASA
Giovanni De Stefano (they/them, two-spirit) is a LCMHCA and LCASA who began to work in the Humanities field as a volunteer with people living with HIV. They worked for a nonprofit organization for 5 years as a medical case manager and community navigator lead. An interest in mental health, substance use, BIPOC issues, LGBTQIA+ health, and aging and chronic diagnosis guided them to the counseling field. Giovanni received a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling through the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
Giovanni’s therapeutic approach is humanistic in that the focus is a holistic approach that acknowledges free will, human potential and self-discovery. An advocate and a family member of the Queer, BIPOC, and Recovery community, they approach their practice in the belief that within the self, one is cultivating the roots of healing.
They ground their living practice in acceptance & commitment therapy (ACT). Their fields of interest include: addiction and the displacement of the self, human behavior in relation to plagues, mental health through the multicultural lens, and the intersection of chronic diagnosis, the body politics, mental health, substance use and aging.
Giovanni is a father to two adorable dogs by the name of Tucker and Rimbaud. They enjoy writing poetry, reading in their free time, healing with community. A native of the Andes Mountains of Bogota Colombia, they feel at home in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
You can contact Giovanni at Giovanni.HealingTogether@gmail.com or 828-423-0872.