Diane Girardot, MA, LPC, CT/RT
Psychotherapist and Health Care Journalist
The first thing to know about me is that I am from Louisiana. I have lived in the northeast for 31 years now - but can’t - or won’t - discard an accent that brings me home every time someone asks where I am from. Home to the bayou, warm (actually, very hot) weather, and incredible food.
I am enjoying the marriage of two careers as a psychotherapist and journalist. I began as a newspaper reporter at the local weekly my senior year of high school. First official job was in Lafayette, LA as the Acadiana Parishes reporter for three years in the mid-80s covering everything from food festivals to the execution of a serial killer.
I moved on to Beaumont, TX to as a feature writer. The stories became more intense and had broader psychological components from a series on pit bull fighting to female big rig drivers. I met my New Jersey born husband who was on a two year work assignment in Beaumont. I jumped at the chance for love and a byline in a big city newspaper when his stint was done.
I nabbed a reporting job with the Philadelphia Inquirer in its South Jersey bureau. More features for the weekly Neighbors section and more daily local news and human interest reporting. Then the bureau office moved to more than an hour away and I opted for freelance after getting married and finding out we were expecting. I concentrated on writing and publishing newsletters for the local power company (PSE&G), the National Wildlife Federation in D.C., and other writing and editing assignments as they came in, including steady work with the Wilmington News Journal in Delaware.
I was back in a classroom at University of Delaware taking undergraduate Psychology courses when my son turned three. I then finished at the United States International University in Mexico City, Mexico, six years later after another transfer for my husband 1996 - 1999.
Back in the states, I started a Masters in Counseling Psychology program at Immaculata University and finished in 2002. In 2005, I opened a private practice in Chadds Ford, PA. I opened a second office in Philadelphia about 10 years later. Then in 2019 I closed the Chadds Ford office and settled full-time in Philly, including moving into a high rise apartment with my husband after selling our Chadds Ford home.
I returned to journalism several years ago when I began blogging for the Philadelphia Inquirer’s on-line health section from various conferences I was attending such as the American Psychological Association and the Renfrew Center Eating Disorders Foundation.
I continue to pursue knowledge and expertise as a psychotherapist, a journalist and as a human being.
Licensed Professional Counselor (2005)
National Board Certification (2004)
MA Counseling Psychology (2002)
Immaculata University
BA English Literature/Journalism (1982)
Louisiana State University
Private Practice (2005-present)
Outpatient Therapist (2001-2005)
Holcomb Behavioral Health, Exton, PA
Springfield Psychological, Exton, PA
Student Assist. consultant (2002-2008)
Holcomb Behavior Health, Exton, PA
Journalism Experience:
Freelance Writer (2012 to current)
Staff Writer (1982-1989)
Staff Writer (1977-1982)
Freelance/Publications (1989-1996)
Produced newsletter, edited
position report for Congress
Produced monthly employee
newsletter and 20,000 circulation
newspaper for nuclear facility.
Writer, editor of marketing and
communications publications for
Delaware Wellness Centers
Writer, editor, designer of
engineering brochures,
newsletters, seminar material