Meet Fiorella Bianchi, LCSW CCTP | Co-Owner of Holistic Minds Collective & Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Fiorella Bianchi, LCSW CCTP and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Fiorella, alright, let’s jump in with a deep one – what’s you’re definition for success?

I believe success is what you make it and not what society deems valid. At the end of the day, society does not decide your dream career nor does it pay your bills. Society does not live your life. Success is defined by your own determination and will to keep moving forward, whatever that means to you.

In my eyes, my success is defined by meeting my goals and learning about my field as much as I can. I consider being knowledgeable and making beneficial choices in my practice and for my clients, makes me successful. I think if I’ve provided a space for my clients to emotionally roam safely and freely, I’ve succeeded. I believe that if I am capable of emotionally, mentally, and physically providing for myself, and my loved ones I have succeeded. It’s difficult to determine the range of success, when everyone’s version of success looks so different. But what I can say is that we all have this active life we are living. Why spend most of it looking over to other peoples lanes and comparing the distance they’ve run- when you can use that energy to move at the pace you desire. Life is not a race. So live it freely.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

So, I didn’t start my path diving into a psychology major or mental health field. I was a theatre kid my whole life. I went to performing art schools growing up, and even went as far as to receive my BFA in Acting at Marymount Manhattan College in NY. I did, however, realize around my adolescent years, that as much as I loved the arts, it wasn’t satisfying me anymore. Upon exploring career options, my sister-in-law, Dr. Uribe – who would eventually become my mentor, suggested I look into Social Work. Intrigued, I applied & was accepted into Barry University starting out my Mental Health Journey. I learned a lot about myself, about the mind, and how to help those who require it. I became enthralled with the realization that this is my field, my practice, and eventually will be my work. I began working in community counseling straight out of my MSW and learned to appreciate that this was going to be a lot harder than I thought. As time went by, I migrated and moved my practice into school counseling, while still actively seeing clients after work. This parallel showed me a lot about how to work with kids, adolescents, and young adults. I thought that by working in a school, I’d have more access to working with youth. Unfortunately, I found that I couldn’t expand my ability with my students due to the limitations school offered. So began my ascent to working with Dr. Uribe. She offered me an opportunity, I could not deny & partnered with her in her practice Live Life Unlimited Counseling. We now have rebranded Live Life Unlimited Counseling to the Holistic Minds Collective and hope to continue to grow and expand in the world of holistic & integrative healing!

At the age of 16, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I’ve had therapy for many years and can say I feel confident working through my anxiety nowadays. But it isn’t all roses – Struggling with an anxiety disorder is like living with a disgruntled roommate that is attached to you 24/7 and never goes away. As much as I can sit here and berate it, having anxiety has truly helped me understand and empathize with my clients. It’s made me a better clinician and has only fed my interest in bettering myself for them. Although my specific practice is in tackling all mental illnesses, my specialization is working with youth. This includes preteens, adolescents, and young adults dealing with Depression, Anxiety, & Trauma. I also work closely with people who present with personality disorders.

Our mission at Holistic Minds Collective is to provide a space for our clients to safely reach their healing journey. By providing a holistic approach and incorporating therapeutic models that will help illuminate underlying issues & heal old wounds. We provide a range of individual, family, and couples therapy using different therapeutic approaches and are now expanding our practice in Ketamine Assisted Therapy and are working on our EMDR certification to eventually offer services of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Ketamine Assisted Therapy is an intensive psychotherapy model that allows the person to arrive at their core feelings and rewires emotional memories. Ketamine allows us to bypass our defenses and feelings of anxiety, giving us access to deeper feelings we typically avoid. With the guidance of your therapist – you will begin to self-soothe any defenses that are activated that would normally protect your anxiety and keep us stuck.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

Oof, I have a mountain of people who have held me up and led me to where I am. I am blessed to acknowledge that I could not have made it here on my own. I’d have to start with my mentor, and now partner & co-owner Dr. Liliana Uribe. She is the main reason I am where I am today. Without her guidance, I don’t know if I’d find Social Work and have the path paved the way I did. My parents and my brother, especially my mother – who has always encouraged and pushed me to exceed my own limits of expectation. They believed in me when I couldn’t. My mother always told me to follow the light within myself and I’ll always find my way. And ultimately, my life-partner, Brien. He was my light when I couldn’t see where to go. He provided a safe space for me to get to know myself and my own growth. This is my tribe. My people. I am nothing without their support.

Website: holisticmindscollective.org

Instagram: @holisticmindscollective

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/fiorellabianchilcsw