Greetings!
My name is Dr. Nicole Donato. However, please feel free to call me Nicole. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a life-long lover of knowledge evident by my two Master degrees and PhD in Psychology. Additionally, I knew as a teenage girl that I wanted to become a therapist. Thus, since 2006 I have been licensed in the state of New Jersey as a Licensed Professional Counselor. My career has taken many twists and turns. I have worked in an inpatient psychiatric hospital as well as provided therapy services on an outpatient basis. Also, I have been employed as a social worker for a foster family agency. Currently I am a college professor. I absolutely love teaching! It is extremely gratifying to see students have a lightbulb moment of understanding occur. When I started college, I never dreamed of a day that technology would offer a conduit upon which effective therapy services could be provided. Thus, I look forward to working collaboratively with clients through the online platform to heal from their emotional disturbances.
How therapy works is often times shrouded in mystery. Thus, I would like to demystify the therapy process. From the person-centered therapy perspective, I aim to create a therapeutic alliance with my clients. This means that clients can expect for me to be genuine and empathetic. “Walk a mile in my shoes” is an apt saying that expresses how I work to understand my client’s life experiences. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is another theoretical orientation that I use to assist clients. The premise of CBT entails identifying activating events. These activating events may cause negative feelings when there are negative self-talk messages that a person tells themselves about the events. Thus, I work with clients to help them identify their negative self-talk messages that may be contributing to their emotional disturbances. Additionally, I draw therapeutic techniques from motivational interviewing and the psychodynamic approach.
I look forward to working with you!
Nicole
Additional areas of focus: LGBT, Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Trauma and abuse, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Sleeping disorders, Parenting issues, Anger management, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Coping with life changes, Coaching, Compassion fatigue, ADHD, Abandonment, Aging and geriatric issues, Body image, Caregiver issues and stress, Co-morbidity, Codependency, Coping with natural or human-caused disaster, Drug and alcohol addiction, Eating and food-related issues, Family of origin issues, Family problems, Forgiveness, Guilt and shame, Isolation / loneliness, Life purpose, Midlife crisis, Mood disorders, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Paranoia, Phobias, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-love, Social anxiety and phobia, Somatization, Women's issues, Workplace issues, Young adult issues
Clinical approaches: Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, Psychodynamic Therapy
NJ LPC 37PC00348500
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Dr. Nicole Donato. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.
Nicole is an incredible human being. She has been my therapist for 3 years now. I look to her as if she is my life mentor and role model, guiding my growth, contributing to my understanding, and allowing me to become more of myself. She creates a safe space to feel, speak, and think. She's genuine in your words and feels with you. There are so many wonderful endless words I could say about Nicole. To summarize, I think she embodies what a great therapist would be: to be human, to be there with you and make you feel seen and heard.
Written on Feb 20, 2024 after therapy with Nicole for 3 years and 5 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, lgbt, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, self esteem, coping with life changes, and compassion fatigue
Every session with Dr. Donato is helpful. I am so grateful for her ongoing support and encouragement. She’s professional and gentle at the same time, providing superior insight and understanding as we learn to navigate through various transitions in life. Thank you Dr. Donato!
Written on Dec 09, 2023 after therapy with Nicole for 2 years and 6 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, parenting issues, self esteem, anger management, coping with life changes, and adhd
You are the best!
Written on Sep 25, 2023 after therapy with Nicole for 2 years and 11 months on issues concerning trauma and abuse, and self esteem
I absolutely love meeting with Dr.Donato - the amount of progress I’ve seen in myself since starting sessions with her is incredible. I feel like I understand my thoughts and feelings better, and truly have the tools I need to get through difficult moments. Every week we uncover something new that helps me become a better version of myself. Dr.Donato is kind, nurturing, understanding, non-judgmental and thoughtful - truly an amazing therapist!
Written on Aug 15, 2022 after therapy with Nicole for 1 year and 11 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, lgbt, relationship issues, and coping with life changes
Dr. Donato is so great to work with. I always leave my sessions feeling more knowledgable about what I am feeling, and know that my feelings and thoughts are not concrete and can change. I no longer feel that I am my thoughts - I now understand that they can be adjusted, and will change if I am aware of them and make the effort to rebuttal them.
Written on Jan 05, 2022 after therapy with Nicole for 1 year and 3 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, self esteem, and adhd
After trying to work with a couple different therapists, I knew that Nicole was the therapist that I wanted to work with within moments of our first session. She is gentle and welcoming, and she provided a safe space for me to express my feelings that I couldn’t have been able to express to anyone else at the time. I felt like she cared about what was best for me, and wanted to be there for me, and was happy for me when I was happy. Basically, she rocks!
Written on Feb 13, 2021 after therapy with Nicole for 4 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, parenting issues, self esteem, anger management, career difficulties, and coping with life changes