Our Therapists
Spencer McCauley, LCSW
Practice Owner
Therapist for children, teens and young adults
Serving clients in person in Fairfield, CT
Virtual sessions for residents of CT, NY and MA
Spencer is a therapist and the founder of Spencer’s Therapy Practice. She has been working in mental health for the past 10 years in various settings focused on child, adolescent and young adult therapy, including the Yale Child Study Center and New York City’s Bellevue Hospital, and at other locations in NYC and Greenwich.
A compassionate listener, Spencer specializes in anxiety, social difficulties, obsessive thoughts and worries. She also has expertise in navigating challenges at school, including perfectionism, underperformance and behavioral difficulties.
Spencer uses a strengths-based approach and believes all people have inherent strengths that make them unique and important. She employs a variety of therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), parent management, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), attachment-based therapy and mindfulness, weaving methods together to fit the needs of each client. She also has basic training in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), which is effective for those who want to process traumatic or upsetting experiences from the past.
Shantal Placido, LCSW
Therapist for teens and young adults
Fluent in Spanish and English
Serving clients virtually in Connecticut
Shantal is a gentle, kind and supportive therapist who works with teens and young adults in their early 20s. She has been providing individual therapy for 7 years, as a pediatric therapist at Bellevue Hospital in New York; a therapist serving children, teens and young adults at Children’s Aid; and an individual and family therapist for teens and families at Northside Center for Child Development.
Shantal excels with tentative or nervous clients, as she creates a stress-free and inclusive environment. She often works with people who experience anxiety, OCD, self-esteem issues, ADHD and work- or school-related stress. One of her passions is working with individuals who are attending college where the other students may have a different background than the client or their family, including educational, racial, ethnic, or financial factors. Shantal specializes in working with immigrant families (including first- and second-generation clients), and young people experiencing cultural differences and struggles with identity and belonging.
She also excels in supporting creatives and artists in their creativity. Shantal has helped clients move past creative blocks and stresses that are stopping them from completing their art.
Shantal can provide therapy to clients in English or Spanish, and offers virtual sessions with flexible scheduling. She uses various therapy techniques with clients, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, interpersonal psychotherapy and trauma-informed treatment.
Teresa Giolitto, LMFT
Therapist for children, teens and young adults
Serving individuals and families in person in Fairfield, CT
Virtual sessions for residents of Connecticut
Teresa is a compassionate, warm and direct therapist who provides individual and family therapy to children, teens and young adults. She has 10 years of experience in mental health, including working as an inpatient therapist for adolescents at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, where she guided groups for parents and provided therapy to high schoolers.
Teresa often works with clients who have a variety of challenges, including anxiety, disorganization, social difficulties, ADHD, neurodivergence, autism, school challenges and disruption at home.
In addition to Teresa’s work at Spencer’s Therapy Practice, she is part of a program within Staples High School in Westport that supports teens who would otherwise be placed in a different educational environment due to their mental health. She provides group, individual and family therapy in the school, which gives her unique insight into the school system and extensive knowledge about teens who are having difficulty attending or succeeding in school.
Teresa uses several therapeutic approaches to support her individual and family clients, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), internal family systems, motivational interviewing and various other helpful techniques.