MARIO ALVAREZ SERRANO, MA, LCPC, NCC

AREAS OF FOCUS

• Acculturation & Immigration
• Alcohol & Substance Use
• Anger Management
• Behavioral Addictions (Gambling, Sex, Internet, etc.)
• Eating Disorders & Food Management
• Elderly Persons Disorders
• Family & Relationship Conflict
• Gender Exploration, Expression, & Identity Affirmation
• Impulse Control Disorders
• Kink, Sex Positivity & Sex Work
• Mood Disorders (Bipolar, Depression, Major Depression)
• Personality Disorders (Antisocial, Borderline, etc.)
• Self-Harm & Suicidal Ideation
• Sexual Abuse & Addiction
• Social & Restorative Justice
• Transgender & Transitioning
• Trauma & PTSD

CLIENTS I WORK WITH

• Families (Chosen, Family of Origin, Single Parents)
• Individuals (Adolescents, Adults, Seniors)
• Relationships (Couples, Open, Polyamorous/Polycule, Premarital, Separation/Divorce)

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that each client is the expert in their own life. I work to be an agent of change for those seeking comfort, healing, and purpose. I use a holistic approach drawing from different modalities to therapy to assist clients in discovering constructive ways to dismantle the barriers to their authentic happiness so they can experience living their lives with more purpose and intentionality. I am passionate about multicultural counseling and working with neurodivergent adults and adolescents with diverse expressions of gender, sexuality, and relationships.

THERAPY WITH ME

My goal in the therapeutic setting is to provide each client with an emotionally safe environment where they feel comfortable exploring even the biggest challenges, whether it is how to manage overwhelming emotions such as anxiety or depression, learning to recognize and resist unhealthy or toxic / unfair patterns in life and relationships, or confronting past trauma or abuse. I strive to create a warm, empathetic, and non-judgmental atmosphere in therapy while utilizing a collaborative and strengths-based approach to identify goals and facilitate growth, change, recovery, restoration and healing.

While success in therapy is measured on a case-by-case basis, I value supporting each client’s therapeutic journey with behavioral and cognitive interventions aimed at improving their role functioning – so clients can experience living their life more optimally; increasing  intrapersonal satisfaction and amplified contentment with their interpersonal relational dynamics.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

License:

• Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (License No. 180011027)

Degrees:

• MA in Community Counseling, Illinois School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University
• Juris Doctor, Beasley School of Law, Temple University
• BS in Sociology, Illinois State University

Certifications:

• National Certified Counselor (Certification No. 889842), National Board for Certified Counselors

TYPES OF THERAPY

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT), Client-Directed Outcome-Informed Therapy (CDOI), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Collaborative Couple Therapy (CCT), Core Process Psychotherapy (CPP), Emotion-Focused Individual & Couples Therapy, Existential Psychotherapy, Family Attachment Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), Feminist Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Group Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Journal Therapy, Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), Narrative Therapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Process Oriented Psychology, Relational-Cultural Psychotherapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Systems Theory / Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).