Gabrielle Brainard

As a trauma therapist, I am trained in EMDR, Progressive Counting and also am skilled in DBT, CBT, Mindfulness-Based SR, Schema Therapy and Solution-Focused therapy.  I work with any individual who desires to grow and heal. Anyone who is ready to armor-up and make a commitment to show up for yourself on this healing journey.  Learn copious skills, i.e. emotion regulation skills, interpersonal skills and how to manage symptoms of depression & anxiety e.g. rumination, negative thoughts, negative internal dialogue, difficulty with sleep (too much, not enough).  Learn how these symptoms may be rooted in past trauma and how to break free from the past.  I look forward to working with you.

Gabrielle Brainard’s path to helping others heal seemed predestined.  As a current resident of a small town in western New York State, she grew up in Arkansas, and attended school there from first grade through eighth.  Her family moved to New York, where she finished high school, and began her advanced education in Maryland.   It was in Baltimore, where she had her first exposure to therapy, while working 3rd shift on an in-patient, adolescent unit at Sheppard Pratt Hospital; the nation's largest private, nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, special education, developmental disability and social services.  Her aunt, a psychiatric nurse, and uncle, a clinical social worker, both were well-respected, long-term employees.

After getting her Bachelor’s in Sociology and Law Enforcement at Towson University, and studying abroad in London; she continued her education, earning a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, in Pennsylvania.  The past eight years, Ms. Brainard, spent her days as a high school social worker for an alternative education school, from which she recently resigned.  Now she spends most days utilizing her training as a LCSW, LMSW, and trauma therapist providing counseling services to adults via telehealth.

“Social workers are a unique group of professionals; we are versatile and knowledgeable about a managerie of community resources available at the macro, mezzo and micro levels."  She emphasizes how telehealth opens a spectrum of provider options.  “Living in a rural area, transportation tends to be a barrier, not to mention the economic challenges, and overall limited access to much needed resources.  Telehealth offers the opportunity for individuals to receive professional quality medical care and mental health treatment from the privacy and comfort of their own homes.”

As a mother of three, Gabrielle has a passion for traveling. Growing up, she visited all 50 states with her mother and siblings and aspires to do the same with her own children.  She is also building a ‘travel bucket list’ which includes Iceland and New Zealand.