Buffalo counselor Olivia Geary centers authenticity, resilience and grief care

Licensed Mental Health Counselor Olivia Geary is building a career across Buffalo-area psychiatric, community and private practice settings, with a focus on grief, trauma and anxiety. Her profile highlights how personal resilience, mentorship and advocacy shape her approach as she eyes a future private practice and a possible mental health hospital in New York.

Why it matters: - Olivia Geary’s career shows how lived experience and clinical training can shape care for people dealing with grief, trauma, anxiety and chronic stress. - Her path also reflects a broader shift in mental health work toward authenticity, client advocacy and more individualized treatment. - Geary hopes to expand access even further through a future private practice and, eventually, a mental health hospital in New York State that blends alternative and traditional approaches.

What happened: - Influential Women published a profile on Olivia Geary, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor based in Buffalo, New York. - The profile was released Sept. 25, 2026. - Geary has spent nearly a decade working in psychiatric, community-based and private practice settings. - Her current role is at Kind Mental Health Counselors, a private practice.

The details: - Geary earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Buffalo State University and a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Canisius University. - She began her clinical career at BryLin Behavioral Health System, a psychiatric hospital. - Her work has included care for people facing trauma, grief, anxiety, PTSD and major life transitions. - At Endeavor Health Services, Geary worked with registered sex offenders, an experience that pushed her to question assumptions and strengthen her advocacy skills. - Geary says her professional growth has come from learning to navigate rigid systems while protecting a client-centered approach. - Her counseling style emphasizes honesty, transparent communication, vulnerability and mutual trust. - She says clinical expertise matters, but human connection matters just as much. - Geary’s interest in grief counseling is tied to her grandmother, who ran a grief center in Lackawanna, New York, during the 1970s. - Her own health history also informs her work. She has lived with Type 1 diabetes since childhood and has navigated ADHD symptoms. - Outside counseling, Geary also works in catering, a passion she developed during graduate school. - She plans to open her own private practice. - She also hopes to create a mental health hospital in New York State that includes alternative approaches alongside traditional treatment methods. - Influences in her life include a former stepmother who was a freelance writer, her father, a high school yearbook teacher and her cheerleading coaches.

Between the lines: - Geary’s story puts a premium on resilience as a clinical skill, not just a personal trait. - Her emphasis on authenticity suggests she sees the therapeutic relationship as part of the treatment itself, not just a channel for treatment. - Her interest in high-acuity settings and institutional advocacy points to a counselor shaped by difficult systems, not sheltered from them. - The profile also shows how family history and chronic illness can deepen empathy in mental health care without replacing formal training.

What's next: - Geary plans to keep building her practice at Kind Mental Health Counselors while working toward a future private practice. - Her longer-term vision includes developing a broader mental health facility in New York State. - She also continues to encourage young women entering counseling to seek demanding early-career experiences and to advocate for clients when systems get in the way.