Janel Medina, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Clinical Supervisor

My name is Janel L. Medina, LCSW, and I am a Licensed Social Worker, LCSW # 24605.  I have had the honor and privilege of working with people in a variety of therapeutic settings over the past 20 years.  I believe the role of a therapist is to be your best advocate and cheerleader without any strings attached other than for you to find your best self.  You know yourself better than anyone else in the world, and as a therapist I want to help you find that truth. I primarily work from a person-centered and cognitive behavioral therapy therapeutic approach.

Clinical Experience

I completed my Bachelor’s degree at Metropolitan State College of Denver (Now, Metropolitan State University of Denver) in 2001 in Human Services.  I later earned my Master of Social Work at Washington University in Saint Louis in 2003 with a clinical focus on Children, Youth, and Famillies. I focused most of my undergraduate, master’s degree work, and my first five years in San Diego primarily on child sexual abuse in both forensic and clinical settings. I have also had internships that focused on the legal system as well individual therapy with children during this time. 

After moving to San Diego in 2003 for warmer weather, I had the opportunity to work in an acute crisis therapeutic environment of a crisis house for Community Research Foundation for five years.  It was in this setting, that I was first exposed to working with adults with mental health and addiction issues.  As a social worker, I have had the opportunity to wear many hats that have included medical social work in hemodialysis clinics, working as a crisis team clinician in the emergency department, and have provided clinical supervision of other clinicians seeking licensure as a social worker as well.

I have been employed with Kaiser Permanente as a psychosocial clinician in Addiction Medicine since 2009.  In this role, I provide individual therapy, relapse prevention group therapy, and teach Cognitive Behavioral Therapy groups.  I am also one of two clinicians that assists with the assessment and case management for outside contracts with recovery homes, partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient programs for the department. 

I'm a Yonsei, fourth-generation Japanese-American and the mother to bi-racial children, one of which has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  These cultural lenses have also helped shape my practice as well to better provide support, assistance, and knowledge to others.

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Languages: English

Education

Master of Social Work, Concentration: Children, Youth, and Families
Washington University in Saint Louis, May 2003    

Bachelor of Science in Human Services
Metropolitan State College of Denver, May 2001

Please note: Each individual therapist is responsible for the legal and ethical psychotherapy treatment of their own clients. The therapist on this page operates independently from other providers in this office.