Many people find yoga therapeutic, but a new local business takes it to the next level, combining traditional psychotherapy and yoga techniques.

Mt. Lebanon licensed psychologist, registered yoga teacher and certified yoga therapist Beth Christiano firmly believes in the power of integrated mental and physical health. Her practice, Clarity, 729 Washington Road, Suite 1, is a clinical psychology office and yoga therapy studio.

Christiano, Outlook Drive, holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from Case Western Reserve University, with additional training in school psychology and sports counseling from Duquesne University and California University of Pennsylvania, respectively.

“I wanted to provide clients an alternative to traditional types of therapy for mental health,” she said.   

Yoga therapy is a “bottom-up intervention,” said Christiano, “which means that we change the nervous system, the physiology, and then the mind changes.”

Unlike traditional cognitive psychotherapy, Christiano uses yoga therapy techniques when working with clients, including breathwork, meditation, mantras and mudras.

“In yoga therapy, we use these to help a client ease their suffering. Whether it’s emotional, whether it’s physical [or] whether it’s both,” she explained. As she tends to see more clients with emotional and mental health concerns, she considers those
her specialty.

Christiano is a longtime resident whose children attended Mt. Lebanon schools. Her love of Lebo led her to open the practice here.

“I wanted to be close to home, and I also wanted to provide a service to the community.”

Yoga therapy is client-centered and tailored to fit individual needs, Christiano explained. “Yoga is a practice that meets the client where they are and then moves
from there.”

Just because someone doesn’t have experience or lives with physical challenges, doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from yoga, Christiano added.

“Yoga is really for everybody. We move in order to prepare our bodies to meditate,” said Christiano. “It’s much broader than the movement itself.” 

Clarity offers individual sessions and group classes. A typical individual session will feature talk therapy, a review of home yoga practice and additional yoga practice in the office, though individual sessions are constructed on a person-to-person basis. Group classes typically occur seasonally, in eight-week periods.

Past classes include a winter session for depressed mood and a spring session for releasing and renewing. Christiano plans to add a trauma-informed class as well as a meditation group.

Clarity is now accepting new clients. For more information, visit claritypgh.com, email claritypgh@gmail.com or call 412-327-1870.

*This story was edited on August 25, 2025 to add Christiano’s certification as a registered yoga teacher.