Solana Warner (Intern Therapist)
Solana Warner (she/they) is an intern therapist at The Center for Growth. Her internship runs from August 26th, 2024 to August 26th, 2025. Solana is currently working towards achieving a master’s degree in clinical and counseling psychology at Chestnut Hill College, with a concentration in diverse and underserved populations. She is available for individual and couples therapy, both in-person at the Art Museum/Fairmount PA office, the Society Hill office, or virtually within New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Solana is passionate about therapeutic work that helps individuals embrace newly discovered aspects of themselves or continue ongoing exploration. She believes that the best tool for an effective listener is an open mind and approaches new challenges with curiosity, honesty, and humor (when appropriate). Though she draws from a variety of theoretical backgrounds, her foremost concern is establishing an environment in which you feel safe and comfortable to share.
Solana’s areas of particular interest are:
Gender identity & dysphoria
Sexuality exploration
Sex therapy
Non-traditional relationships
Relationship & couples therapy
Multiculturalism
Racial identity and systems of oppression
Anxiety & panic attacks
Depression
Life transitions
Trauma/PTSD
Creativity
Background
Solana completed a Bachelors of the Arts in English literature at Ursinus College. In this program, she studied narratives of many diverse populations, which helped inform her understanding of oppressive systems and the importance of retaining agency over one’s own story. She believes the best way to learn about a culture is through speaking with its people – and that reading is just another form of conversation.
Empathy remains at the heart of Solana’s work: whether analyzing texts or practicing therapy. She is sensitive to the barriers that many people face when seeking help for their mental health, and it is her wish to make therapy as accessible to everyone as possible. Whether it is your first time in therapy, or you are well-familiarized with the process, she will meet you where you are and collaborate to set goals tailored to your own unique experience. She understands that seeking help can be scary – but the fact that you’re reading this means you have shown incredible courage already.
Narrative Therapy
As humans, we love to conceptualize our lives in terms of stories. We are not just specks of energy moving through the cosmos; we are protagonists and authors of our own adventures. The people we encounter in our daily routines fill the pages of our internal narrative. Who are the characters who influenced you most? Whose words do you use to describe the past? Are you the hero or villain of your own story?
Narrative therapy addresses all of these questions and more. In this modality, particular care is paid to the words you use to describe your experiences and the way you frame your view of the world. Oftentimes, the words we use to describe memories are words we have borrowed from family or friends. Taking a step back to acknowledge the origin of our narratives can help us sift through the stories that actively help us, and “re-story” the ones that do not. Sometimes, a simple shift in perspective can ease the burdens we carry over the course of many years.
Solana utilizes concepts of Narrative therapy to empower clients to feel agency over their stories. Her role is one of a collaborator, rather than an editor, as she helps individuals analyze the themes and patterns of their lives.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Another therapeutic approach that informs Solana’s style as a clinician is Psychodynamic theory. In this style of care, a person’s past is explored thoroughly in order to gain perspective on the present. Formative childhood events become the focus for reflection, as we trace the roots of certain thoughts or behavioral patterns. Each person’s development is unique, and this method of therapy prizes the uniqueness of treatment to fit the need.
Family structure and early attachments are therefore an important part of Psychodynamic work. Where you come from affects who you become, and with an understanding of this, you can affect where your trajectory is aimed in the future. Solana finds that this concept dovetails neatly with an understanding of Family Systems therapy when working with couples and families.
Person-Centered Therapy
Solana believes that a client is the expert on their own life, and therefore should feel empowered to lead the therapy in whichever direction they see fit. In Person-Centered therapy, it is understood that the client has all the answers they seek; it is just a matter of helping to uncover them. This form of care is grounded in concepts of empathetic understanding, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard, in which a therapist does not pass judgment on you, no matter what you share.
Strengths-Based Approach
Similarly, a strengths-based approach focuses on a client’s inner resilience and positive qualities as a way of bolstering them against life’s challenges. Whereas some therapies take the approach of “fixing what’s wrong,” this perspective aims to make use of a person’s existing talents and resources to address the issues they face. Through repeatedly highlighting their skills, Solana hopes to build a client’s self-esteem while simultaneously tackling the concerns that brought them in.
Trauma-informed Approach
Trauma affects many of us – be it smaller, repeated traumas or a singular, catastrophic event. It can also affect us in different ways. Some people experience strong physical reactions that are triggered by specific stimuli, while others learn patterns of interacting with the world that are unhelpful or even actively harm them.
The way we experience trauma is tied to survival. When people experience an endangering event, their brain is inundated with sensory details that do not get processed right away, as they function in “survival mode.” When the danger passes, however, most memories will be processed naturally and incorporated into their working memory. This is not the case with trauma; traumatic events are different in that they do not get processed and organized by the logical parts of our brain. Instead, they remain nebulous pockets of fear and overwhelming sensory information that grip the body – often uncontrollably – when we are reminded of the event(s).
Understandably, this experience can be very frightening, but it is also not irreversible. Trauma work in therapy involves helping a client process these crystallized memories, so they no longer evoke such visceral reactions. Through reprocessing trauma, a major goal is to help a person move out of a state in which they’re always seeking danger and return to a stabler baseline where they can feel the stirrings of hope and imagination again – the parts of the brain that are most constricted by living in “survival mode.”
No matter your background with trauma, trauma-informed therapy means approaching a client’s past with care and sensitivity. It also means paying particular attention to bodily symptoms of distress, as trauma often manifests in a physical form. Last, trauma-informed care respects a client’s right to decide whether they wish to address their trauma in therapy or not; it is a personal decision, and either outcome will be honored.
Sex Therapy
Sex can be hard to talk about. And yet, for many people, it is a deeply important part of their lives. For that reason, Solana believes it is vital to create a safe environment where clients feel comfortable discussing sex if they choose.
The experience of seeking and obtaining pleasure is a right we all, as humans, share. However, there can also be a lot of stigma surrounding sex, depending upon the societal expectations and who the participants are. Solana’s goal in this type of therapy is to welcome people of all identities and backgrounds and learn their particular relationship with sex in order to help them discover the root of their issues. She works with clients on topics like sex function, helping them better understand their own needs and desires as well as embrace creativity in problem-solving.
Queer and Trans Identity
While the queer community is robust and supportive, there are still unique challenges that face those of us who cannot – or choose not to – “pass” as straight or cisgender in today’s society. Many still experience discrimination and harassment in public as well as legal and financial barriers – especially with regards to the medical system. Therapy can be particularly scary to those who have seen it leveraged as a means of limiting access to services, such as gender-affirming care. Solana understands this delicate history and wants to rebuild trust in mental health professionals by offering the best tailored care to LGBTQ+ individuals that she can. Know that whatever you may be facing, you do not have to face it alone.
As a queer person, Solana understands what it’s like to move through the world outside the bounds of societal norms. While her experience does not describe everyone’s, she is cognizant of the systems in place that impact many queer individuals’ journeys and development. She is well-versed in navigating topics of familial relationships, romantic and platonic relationships, and identity exploration, among others, with clients as well as the frequent complications therein. Moreover, Solana is truly passionate about establishing better mental health practices in the queer community, which so often lacks dedicated resources.
Solana Warner (Intern Therapist)'s Resume
Licensure:
- Pennsylvania: Working under supervision. Working towards her master’s degree in clinical and counseling psychology.
- New Jersey: Working under supervision. Working towards her master’s degree in clinical and counseling psychology.
