Hello! My name is Dawn and I am a Licensed Independent Social Worker. I have 25 years of experience Working in Community Mental Health Organizations and in Private Practice settings. I live in Iowa and also travel frequently with my life partner. I work with clients affected by depression, anxiety, communication, inter and intrapersonal relationship difficulties.
My expertise that I bring you includes building blocks of healthy relationships:
1. Clear communication
2. Emotional regulation
3. Self-worth
4. Compassion
5. Insight
6. Ability to acknowledge and verbalize others strengths and emotions.
I worked as a bachelor’s level social worker for 4 years prior to Graduate School, achieving my independent license in Social Work,
I have worked in private group practice, started my own individual practice and currently work in a community mental health setting.
My approach to therapy is client centered: clients are the experts of their lives, and we work together on the direction an individual determines. Through a strengths-based and solutions-focused lens, I draw on multiple treatment modalities to guide clients in identifying strengths and developing treatment plans that accomplish their goals. Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), I assist clients in exploring relationships among thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to aid in discovering dysfunctional thought patterns leading to self-destructive behaviors and beliefs. Using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), I support clients through developing skills: mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotion regulation with the goal of moving clients towards a life involving the capacity for experiencing joy and freedom.
If clients are open to it, we also work using an internal family systems approach. This work goes inside your own system and identifies different parts that can be helpful or may need updating as you grow and develop.
Outside of my work as a therapist, I enjoy exercise, yoga, walking and hiking and meditation practice in the beautiful outdoors. I also enjoy my life partner and our dog. We own a home in Mexico and are able to go back and forth frequently. I am incredibly grateful for my precious support system of family, friends and colleagues.
SPECIALTIES
Stress, Anxiety
Relationship issues
Self esteem
Depression
Intra and Interpersonal Communication
Coping with life changes
Bipolar disorder, emotional intensity disorder, anger management and self-care.
Years of Experience: 25 years
Additional areas of focus: Addictions, Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Trauma and abuse, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Eating disorders, Parenting issues, Anger management, Compassion fatigue, Abandonment, Aging and geriatric issues, Attachment issues, Blended family issues, Body image, Cancer, Caregiver issues and stress, Chronic pain, illness, and disability, Codependency, Communication problems, Control issues, Divorce and separation, Eating and food-related issues, Family of origin issues, Family problems, Forgiveness, Guilt and shame, Hospice and end-of-life counseling, Isolation / loneliness, Life purpose, Mood disorders, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Post-traumatic stress, Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling), Self-love, Social anxiety and phobia, Women's issues, Workplace issues
Clinical approaches: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy
IA LISW 06148