Christine Fazio

I have an MA in Mental Health Counseling from John Jay College and a BA in American Studies from Brooklyn College. I have specialized training in managing mental health issues relating to sexual trauma, criminal offending, suicidality, substance abuse and co-morbidity issues. My passion for counseling was ignited as a volunteer for a rape crisis center. I have been trained in motivational interviewing and completed my internship providing individual therapy to clients struggling with substance abuse, personality disorders, anxiety, depression and/or chronic mental illness. I have facilitated groups in anger management, intimate partner violence, relapse prevention and psycho-education. In addition, I have spent two years coordinating a racial and cultural psychology lab at John Jay where I studied how race, ethnicity, gender and culture intersects with psychological well-being and I have critically reported on the academic state of literature on race and ethnicity in both forensic and counseling peer-reviewed journals in large content analysis. I have co-authored multiple manuscripts which are currently under review for publication or are actively in progress. I have had the opportunity to offer peer-reviewed presentations at both local and national conferences. I am an invited lecturer at CUNY on matters of cultural competence and multiculturalism in both clinical work and research. I intend to continue expanding my clinical skills through trainings and practice and hope to continue to provide valuable research to aid other clinicians in offering the best suited therapeutic interventions within the context of the client. My main goal as a therapist is to create a safe, empathetic and non-judgmental space where a therapeutic alliance can grow. We will work together in an equal and trusting alliance to identify your unique behavioral, relational and cognitive patterns which can often suspend change and stagnate progress in our lives. During our time together we will work to discover not only the origins of these patterns, but we will also work to implement concrete strategies which can assist you in meeting your goals and improving your psychological well-being. I am a person-centered therapist who is trained to explore the natural feelings of ambiguity which often precede change. I offer cognitive and behavioral techniques which can help facilitate change while valuing the role of insight