Gina Cardillo

Gina Cardillo (she/her) is a licensed professional counselor, board-certified art therapist, hypnotist, certified EMDR therapist, and EMDRIA approved consultant in private practice in Philadelphia, PA. She has worked and volunteered in mental healthcare for over fifteen years in a variety of settings, including inpatient, partial programming and outpatient treatment, serving a diverse range of clients from ages 5 through 80+. Gina currently works primarily with adolescents and adults, and brings her training and experience from her first career in the art and design world into her clinical work. Gina is also a practicing artist and musician outside of her role as a counselor. As an art therapist, Gina bases her work on the principle that art is itself a language, and that all people are inherently creative. With this she guides her clients in using imagery and art-making to illuminate their innermost truths. She believes that by nurturing one’s creativity within any given medium, it allows an opportunity to uncover and develop a new side of oneself, and to build a sense of mastery and empowerment. In her work with clients, Gina has also found it helpful to work from a “parts” perspective in which one explores and normalizes the human experience of holding contradictory feelings or beliefs at different times (or sometimes simultaneously!). For example, you may have a certain personal goal, such as practicing self-compassion or building a better relationship with yourself, but at the same time struggle with self-sabotaging or self-destructive behaviors, or a powerful “inner critic.” By identifying and understanding the different, sometimes contradictory internal and external forces that drive our behavior, we can then gain the opportunity to work with those forces in more harmonious, effective ways. Gina has also obtained her certification in EMDR therapy (eye movement desensitization reprocessing), a relatively rapid treatment that uses bilateral stimulation to access and reprocess distressing or traumatic experiences that contribute to current problematic behaviors and beliefs; similarly to what naturally happens during REM sleep. By identifying, reprocessing and resolving distressing memories from our past, we can establish a greater sense of wellness, internal control and personal freedom in the present. If you'd like to learn more about Gina's work, check out her website at www.ginacardillolpc.com or her Instagram handle @gcphilly_arttherapy. Or if you're ready to start your mental health journey with Gina, please use the contact form to schedule your free 15-minute consultation call.