SOUTHPORT OUTPATIENT MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT PROGRAM

Cara Dascenzo

Cara began working with Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program (DMAP) in March 2018. Cara has 20 years of experience working with children to help them foster strong mental health strategies and skills. For 15 years, Cara developed her professional goals by working for the public school system in the special education program working with a diverse population of children with different social, emotional and learning disabilities. Cara continues to support her students through specialized programs, such as mentoring at-risk youth and obtaining Mental Health First Aid certification. Cara was awarded a full scholarship to the University of Phoenix based on her dedication of her work with children where she completed a B.S. in human service and management in 2013.

In March of 2018, Cara started as a counselor in the Fairfield residential program in which she helped patients through the treatment process with therapeutic enrichment and treatment focus groups. In March 2020, Cara became the milieu manager for the Southport mental health outpatient program. Here, she continues to teach and provide support to both patients and staff on the benefits of wellness and enrichment throughout the treatment process. Cara is an ideal role model in patience, compassion and professionalism, who puts her heart into all of her work. She believes in living what you teach, and when she is not working, she can be found walking her beloved dog Luna, or away at Kripalu learning more about mediation and yoga.

Jacqueline Guiliana

Jacqueline earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from Simmons University where she specialized in Children and Family. Jacqueline is dedicated to helping adolescents by empowering them and their families to work through conflicts and increase effective communication. Jacqueline believes that through therapy, people have the ability of increasing well-being and effective functioning. Jacqueline’s approach is strength’s based and empathetic. Jacqueline predominately uses talk-therapy, DBT, and CBT to assist patients in their recovery.  

Arianna Mora LSW

Arianna is a licensed social worker who obtained her master of social work degree from Southern Connecticut State University with an emphasis on children and families. Arianna has worked in adolescent group home and residential settings. Arianna started as a counselor at Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program before accepting the role of therapist. Arianna utilizes a strengths-based approach and incorporates therapeutic interventions of cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness and psychodynamic theory when working with adolescents and their families. Arianna is passionate about working with adolescents and helping their families with the multitude of challenges that arise with changing life dynamics. Arianna truly believes all the individuals she works with are deserving of recovery, healing and a life worth living.