LCSW in Arizona & New Jersey - Attune

Joanne Solari, LCSW

AZ & NJ Licensed Clinical Social Worker

AZ & NJ Clinical Supervisor

Certified School Social Worker

Master of Social Work Degree from Fordham University with a specialty in Children & Families and a concentration in Client-Centered Management.

My Role as a Psychotherapist

I believe good therapy requires more than clinical knowledge. It requires curiosity, authenticity, flexibility, and the ability to meet people where they are—while helping them move toward where they want to be. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I approach therapy from a strengths-based perspective. I don't believe you are defined by your symptoms, diagnosis, past experiences, or the challenges you're facing today. I believe there is value in understanding what has shaped you while also recognizing your capacity for growth and change.

My role is not to have all the answers for you. It is to help you uncover your own answers, develop a deeper understanding of yourself, and gain the insight and skills necessary to make choices that feel more intentional and aligned with the life you want.

Compassionate Support, With Honest Challenge

My therapeutic style is warm, direct, collaborative, and grounded in compassion. I will absolutely celebrate your progress, listen without judgment, and meet you with empathy. But I also believe therapy should challenge us at times. Sometimes growth means looking at the patterns that aren't working, examining beliefs we've carried for years, sitting with uncomfortable emotions, or recognizing where we may be getting in our own way. I won't simply tell you what you want to hear. When appropriate, I'll gently challenge you, ask the questions that may be difficult to answer, and help you look at situations from a different perspective.

Quality therapy is not about making you feel better in the moment, but helping you to understand yourself well enough to create changes that continue long after our sessions end.

My Clinical Background

My clinical experiences consist of working with adolescents and adults across a wide range of treatment settings, including therapeutic high schools, partial hospitalization programs (PHP), intensive outpatient programs (IOP), and community mental health. I've also worked in care management, outreach, and supportive services, where I saw firsthand how deeply life circumstances can affect mental health. My experience has included supporting individuals and families navigating addiction and recovery, homelessness and housing instability, divorce and separation, family conflict, relationship challenges, trauma, crisis, financial stress, and major life transitions.

These experiences have taught me that anxiety, depression, and other emotional struggles are often intertwined with what is happening around us—our relationships, families, housing, employment, finances, support systems, and the circumstances we may be trying to navigate every day. That's why I believe effective therapy requires looking beyond the diagnosis and understanding the whole person and the world they are living in.

Sometimes therapy is about processing the past. Sometimes it's about surviving what is happening right now. And sometimes it's about figuring out what comes next.

My experience across clinical and community-based settings allows me to bring a broader perspective to that work. I understand that meaningful change isn't always about simply changing the way you think—it can also mean navigating difficult relationships, rebuilding after loss, finding stability, setting boundaries, developing practical coping skills, and learning how to move forward when life hasn't gone according to plan.

Before entering the mental health field, I worked in advertising, customer service, and sales. Those experiences gave me firsthand insight into the pressures of working in Corporate America, expectations, relationships, identity, and trying to balance the many competing demands of everyday life. That perspective continues to influence my work with clients experiencing burnout, career transitions, relationship challenges, or simply feeling disconnected from who they are.

Specialized Training & Areas of Practice

Comprehensive Clinical Training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT with Substance Abuse specialization
Trauma Center/JRI's Complexity of Adaptation to Trauma
Vicarious Trauma & Self-Care
ARC Treatment Framework (Attachment, Self-Regulation, & Competency)
EMDR training through the EMDR Institute
Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist (CCTSI), AZ Trauma Institute
NASW - AZ & NJ Clinical Social Work Supervision Certification Course

I draw from these approaches based on the individual sitting in front of me rather than following a predetermined formula. Different people need different things at different points in their lives, and I believe therapy should have the flexibility to reflect that.

Ultimately, I want therapy to help you become more connected to yourself.
To understand your patterns without being defined by them.
To recognize your strengths without minimizing your struggles.
To make choices with greater intention.
And to build a life that feels more authentically yours.

What I Bring Into the Therapy Room

I bring clinical experience, but I also bring a real-life perspective. I understand that life isn't always neat or predictable. Sometimes we're trying to heal while working, raising a family, maintaining relationships, managing responsibilities, and simply trying to keep up. Therapy doesn't have to be overly formal or feel like you're sitting across from someone who is analyzing everything you say. I want our work to feel genuine. There will be serious conversations. There may be uncomfortable moments. There will be times when we dig deep. I believe humor, when appropriate, can be incredibly therapeutic. Sometimes being able to laugh at ourselves, take a breath, and recognize that we're human can make difficult work feel a little more manageable.

Beyond the Therapy Room

I believe that creating a meaningful life requires balance—and that balance matters in my own life, too. When I'm not working, I'm a lifelong learner with a love for animals, good food, music, nature, and outdoor adventures. I value spending time with the people I love, being present in the moment, and making room for life outside of work.

Therapy, Goodyear, AZ, NJ Growth, healing, blooming