Some people come to therapy because something has broken.
Others come because nothing has — and they are tired in a way that doesn’t show.

You may be functioning, achieving, caring for others, and doing what needs to be done — while quietly carrying a fatigue that doesn’t show. A loneliness that doesn’t come from being alone, but from being unseen. A sense that you’ve adapted well, perhaps too well, to circumstances that asked too much of you.

Therapy can be a place where that inner life is finally given room.
Not to be fixed or optimized — but to be understood.

I work with thoughtful, high-functioning adults navigating burnout, relationship strain, anxiety, and the long echoes of earlier emotional experiences. My approach is depth-oriented psychotherapy — a way of working that helps you understand why certain patterns took shape, and how they can soften and change over time.

If burnout has crept in slowly — through over-functioning, caregiving, or years of holding yourself together — you may want to read more about my work in burnout recovery.

If what resonates most is a sense of emotional distance — from yourself, from others, or from parts of your own life — my work around emotional disconnection may speak to that experience.

If you are here as a couple, please know that couples therapy is not about fixing your partner or learning techniques, but about understanding the emotional dynamics shaping how you relate to one another. If you and your partner are ready to look at what’s actually happening between you, you can read more about my approach to couples therapy here.

If you’ve lived through experiences that still echo in your body or relationships — even if you’ve never called them “trauma” — you can learn more about my approach to trauma therapy, especially for people who appear capable on the outside while carrying unspoken pain within.

I’m Joanna Bienko-Czerniski, MSW, LCSW, a psychotherapist and the founder of Reno Psychotherapy. For more than seventeen years, I’ve worked with adolescents and adults whose outer competence often hides an inner complexity that hasn’t had space to be explored. I trained at Smith College School for Social Work in psychodynamic psychotherapy and have continued that study through extensive post-graduate training in Object Relations theory and related depth approaches.

Growing up bilingual and across cultures shaped how I see people and relationships. I bring a wide, creative lens to therapy — often drawing from literature, metaphor, and story to help clients make meaning in ways that feel alive and personal.

This perspective can open space for insight, compassion, and new ways of understanding yourself beyond rigid narratives.

This is not therapy built around quick fixes or surface strategies.

It’s work for people who want insight rather than instruction, understanding rather than reassurance, and change that reaches beneath symptoms.

My style is relational, reflective, and collaborative. I listen closely — to what you say, to what’s difficult to say, and to what may never have been spoken aloud. Together, we pay attention to emotional patterns that once protected you, to ways you learned to manage alone, and to what becomes possible when those strategies are no longer your only option.

This work is for people who want to understand themselves — not be managed, motivated, or fixed.

Therapy here is a collaborative, reflective process that asks for curiosity, honesty, and participation. If that’s what you’re looking for, we can begin.

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