Ms. Sophia Galano: Vistamar’s Walking Ray of Sunshine

Ms. Sophia Galano is the word “radiant” personified. Whether it is her beaming smile or iconic fashion moments, she never ceases to brighten up Vistamar’s campus. Ms. Galano is the school counselor at Vistamar. Her office is a safe space for students seeking support during the highs and lows of high school, and everything in between. As a licensed clinical social worker, Ms. Galano has dedicated countless hours to ensuring students feel grounded in their lives amongst the chaos of being a teenager. 

At Vistamar, Ms. Galano’s services are short-term, check-in based sessions, however, outside of school, she has her own private practice where she sees clients long-term. Additionally, Ms. Galano runs Peer Counsel at Vistamar, a peer-to-peer counseling program for students interested in learning meditation skills while supporting members of their community.  Ms. Galano also oversees Vistamar’s health and wellness programming, like parent education events, as well as community service projects, such as charity bake sales. 

Psychology is Ms. Galano’s second career. Before becoming a therapist, she worked in fashion design. She received her bachelor’s degree from Pitzer College in sociology and fine art. Then, she went on to study knitwear design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. After working in the industry, she found herself unhappy in her profession. “I always wanted to do something that helps people,” she shares. Growing up with therapists in her family and benefiting from therapy herself as a teenager led her to go back to school to get a master’s degree in social work from New York University. During her internships at grad school, Ms. Galano discovered that she loves working with teens. “I find it very fun and rewarding,” she says, because being a teenager is one of the most transformative periods in a person’s life.

Ms. Galano’s extensive work with teens led her to create a guide for the parents of teens with anxiety. The working title of her book is The Anxious Teen: Supporting and Guiding your Teenager in Coping with Anxiety. it is a workbook finds the middle ground between the many opinions on the “right” way to treat anxiety. It is written to be accessible to any parent, no matter what their education background. Ms. Galano was compelled to write this book because she saw the need an easy-to-follow guide that breakdowns the most important pillars of anxiety treatment. The book answers three questions: Why do teens have anxiety? What are the most effective strategies to support teens? How do parents navigate psychiatry/medication? Additionally, there are exercises in the book that prompt parents to reflect on how their actions may be contributing to their child’s anxiety. 

Community service is an important pillar in Ms. Galano’s life. She is passionate about being a voice for animals because they cannot advocate for themselves. She works with the Beagle Freedom Project, a foundation dedicated to removing animals from laboratory testing facilities, and Frosted Faces, a foundation dedicated to finding homes for senior dogs. Ms. Galano hosts bake sales and community services projects, as well as the occasional charity yoga class as she is a certified yoga instructor. Despite her deep passion for animals, she was not always an animal person growing up. It was not until after her brother persistently pleaded with their parents for a pet and they finally brought home two dogs that she fell in love with animals. Beyond her work with animals, Ms. Galano volunteers for Health, Hollywood, and Society where she reads movie and TV scripts to ensure storylines accurately portray characters with mental health challenges. 

Ms. Galano loves to keep herself busy with things she is passionate about. Whether supporting someone through challenging times, advocating for animals, or just knitting at home, she is always working to make the world a better place for everyone. If you are interested in connecting with Ms. Galano, she is on campus Tuesday afternoons, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. You can either drop-by her office or email her to make an appointment. She will be more than happy to chat with you!