About Diana
About
Background and Approach
Hello, I’m Diana Forlenza, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). My undergraduate work focused on the disciplines of psychology and early elementary education at St. Mary’s College of Maryland where I earned my Bachelor of Arts as well as the prestigious Human Development Award. Â
I completed two Masters Degree Programs at New York University: Masters in Social Work and Masters in Management Science. I have been in practice for a total 27 years, 18 years of which have been in private practice.
My education and career have centered on working with women, children and adolescents. My education in elementary education, developmental and psychological perspectives blend three important variables that serve children well.
Practice Areas
Practice with Children and Adolecents
Play Therapy
Individual Needs
My practice with children incorporates a blend of cognitive behavioral and play therapy as well as a broad range of expressive arts therapies such as sand tray work, art and bibliotherapy as a means of assisting children in communicating and expressing their thoughts and feelings.
My work aims to be playful, and creative in meeting a child/adolescent individual needs whether it be support for changing family circumstances, addressing anxiety (including GAD, OCD, PTSD, Selective Mutism and Social Anxiety), depression, self-harm, self-esteem, eating disorders, ADHD, gender and sexual identity or needed support in school.Â
Individual Care
Understanding
Each child/adolescent is an individual. My work is client centered and is aimed at providing a unique individual experience to best address the issue at hand.Â
There are problems, worries and stresses that children contend with, it doesn’t mean that the children themselves are the problem. Children need understanding and guidance to learn more productive and effective strategies to address their problems.
Practice Areas
Practice with Women
Women's Needs
Unique Challenges
My practice also centers on the mental health and complex needs and challenges of women. I greatly enjoy working with women and helping them to identify and navigate the complicated nature of their experiences in their relationships, in family life, in their careers and journeys as mothers, partners or as single women.
Women face challenges that are unique from a personal and societal perspective, and my goal is to offer a supportive environment that provides the opportunity to problem solve, develop a sense of greater understanding and insight of oneself and to develop a sense of self-determination and empowerment. Â
Reflection Â
Support
Women can develop a greater sense of wellbeing and reductions in anxiety, stress, and depression when they have an opportunity to explore their thinking as it pertains to their romantic relationships, children, family, work and social relationships and the world at large. Learning how thoughts like anger, hurt, disappointment, fear, resentment, alienation, etc. influence their feelings and behaviors enables women to begin to reframe thinking thereby creating a healthier internal dialog which can result in more peaceful external interactions.
I strive to support women in finding their voice, in developing more effective and productive communication styles, in navigating difficult/stressful life circumstances such as divorce, grief and loss, blended family life, parenting of children, challenges in the workplace, caring for aging parents and children with special needs. I take to heart my role in supporting women through this rollercoaster of life and the myriad of emotions that comes with it!