Hello! My name is Daren Casagrande. Growing up in San Jose, CA I was exposed to a very wide variety of identities, ethnicities, beliefs, and ideas. That wide exposure has really built into me an appreciation and interest in all of the different ways in which people see, experience, and make sense of themselves and the world. Between that and my family’s own brand of dysfunction, psychology became a natural interest for me.
My experience and background is in the non-profit realm and is heavily focused on adolescent and transitional-aged youth (16-26) with struggles ranging from homeless, gang involvement, and incarceration all the way to high-pressure, high-stress family/athletic/academic environments and everything in between. I’ve also worked with a wide variety of diagnoses and issues ranging from outpatient care all the way up to needing residential care to achieve health.
I love helping people to discover themselves more fully, clarify where they’re going in life, or problem-solve the “stuck points” we all find ourselves in from time to time. I definitely do not think that counseling is for the “sick,” but for everybody throughout different stages of life or levels of need. My experience has generally been that most people wait too long to come to counseling and make the task more difficult for themselves. So take it easy on yourself and seize the day!
My approach is a holistic, collaborative, listen-first approach that focuses on simple short-term goals in pursuit of more complex long-term goals. I spend a good amount of time listening and seeking to understand before moving more into the prescriptive phase of counseling where we work more directly on your goals. In session, I am mostly calm, understanding, humorous, and non-judgmental. I am here to help you be the version of yourself that you want to be. I would be honored to join you as a co-problem solver today!
Additional areas of focus: Addictions, LGBT, Family conflicts, Grief, Parenting issues, Career difficulties
CA LMFT 92438
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Daren Casagrande. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.
Daren is a real life guardian angel in the flesh!
Written on Apr 06, 2024 after therapy with Daren for 5 years and 4 months on issues concerning depression, and career difficulties
Daren definitely deserves a review. He’s always been helpful to me and has prioritized what my most important needs are. He messages back when he can and we have weekly video sessions.
Written on Dec 04, 2018 after therapy with Daren for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, parenting issues, self esteem, and anger management