My Personal Story

I think the reason I became a child, adolescent, and family therapist stems from much of my own personal experience growing up as a young child and teenager with undiagnosed ADHD, dyslexia, and various learning disabilities. I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 17, and unfortunately, I didn’t get the help I needed.

 

The work to untangle my experience and negative self-perception was a process that gave me a unique opportunity to uncover the kind of support that could be helpful to other young people in this situation.

 

Fortunately, after I was finally diagnosed, I was able to attend a specialized school for teens with learning disabilities. For the first time, I received that support I needed and was able to experience success. I began to understand there are so many other ways to learn, which provided me with a path to success. The more success I experienced, the more confident I became.

 

Two ongoing themes have guided me towards specializing in working with young people challenged with ADHD and learning disabilities:

 

1.     Young people want to succeed.

2.     Parents want their children to succeed.

 

 

Education & Professional Experience

Michael LoGuidice earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work from New York City’s Hunter School of Social Work in 1993, as well as a postgraduate certificate degree from the Psychoanalytic Institute for Child, Adolescent, and Family Studies. Michael later earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Bank Street College of Education.  

 

He maintained a private practice in New York City while working in various community-based organizations that focused on youth and families from underserved communities. For the past 10 years, as both senior social worker and co-director at Bank Street College of Education’s Liberty LEADS Program, Michael’s responsibilities included clinical therapy, program development, and staff training. This highly regarded afterschool dropout prevention/college prep program provides middle school and high school students an array of therapeutic, educational, and support services.  

 

In 2010, Michael received the prestigious PASEsetter Award, granted by the Partnership for After School Education to innovative and effective youth workers in New York City. His recognition was due not only to the commitment and creativity he brought to his work with young people, but also to his development and implementation of a youth work model that he has practiced and refined over the past 23 years. This adventure-based counseling model combines social group work, experiential education, positive youth development/leadership, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Its initial goal was engage young men, who weren’t connecting with offered services, and this experientially based approach increased retention by 60%, and it quickly evolved into an agency-wide component that Liberty LEADS applied to multiple programs. Michael now brings many aspects of this approach to his therapy practice.