LCSW, 5 years of experience
You don’t have to face life’s challenges alone. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in Illinois, I’m here to help you navigate life’s obstacles with compassion, understanding, and support. My background includes extensive experience in trauma-informed community mental health, where I’ve worked with individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds and at various stages of life. My approach is authentic, collaborative, and strengths-based. Together, we’ll work to build hope, recognize your unique strengths, and develop practical tools to manage anxiety, stress, and difficult emotions. My goal is to help you create meaningful change—shifting unhelpful patterns, finding relief from distress, and moving toward a more balanced and fulfilling life. Taking the first step toward therapy can feel overwhelming, but it’s also an act of courage and self-care. You’re worth the effort, and I’d be honored to walk alongside you on your journey toward healing and growth.
We’ll start by getting to know each other, beginning with brief introductions. We'll then delve into your present situation and specific challenges that are causing you discomfort. From this, I will develop a basic understanding of your needs, and we will discuss which therapeutic interventions might be helpful for you. This will help us create a tailored plan to work through in follow-up sessions.
Becoming a therapist has been a lifelong dream of mine—one that’s been years in the making. My practice is shaped by over 20 years of experience in health care and international social justice work, where I learned the importance of empathy, resilience, and connection with people from all walks of life. I strive to create a warm, comfortable atmosphere where clients feel understood and supported. My goal is to put you at ease, help you feel seen and heard, and work together to address the challenges that brought you here. My approach also integrates trauma-informed, evidence-based practices including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). These approaches help clients process painful experiences, build coping skills, and create lasting change.
I enjoy working with clients who are ready to make meaningful changes in their lives but may feel unsure where to start. Many of my clients come to therapy seeking relief from the effects of trauma and grief, wanting to build self-esteem, explore questions around gender and identity, or navigate major life transitions. They are often motivated to grow and heal but feel stuck, overwhelmed, or anxious about how to move forward. Together, we work to uncover what’s holding them back, develop new tools for coping, and create a path toward greater confidence and well-being.
When something traumatic happens, the memories can get “stuck” in the brain, along with the images, sounds, thoughts, feelings, and body sensations from that experience. This can make it hard to move forward, and certain reminders may trigger distress or a sense of helplessness. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy offers a gentle and effective way to help your brain process those memories so they no longer feel overwhelming. By helping your mind “unstick” the trauma, EMDR can reduce lingering symptoms, restore balance, and support your natural ability to heal.
We will use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to increase your self-awareness, foster your ability to live in the present and gain emotional acceptance, and help you live your life according to your values. Through this work, you will develop self-compassion, increase your psychological flexibility, and have more positive experiences.
We will use Dialectical Behavior (DBT) to help you become more self-aware, improve your relationships, cope with stress and anxiety, and manage intense emotions so you can feel in control of your life. DBT can be helpful for clients struggling with PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder, anger management, and many other conditions.
Intrusive or reoccurring thoughts can leave you feeling anxious and depressed. Together, we will use CBT to give you tools to recognize how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected so you can change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and feel more in control of your life.
You are already more resilient and stronger than you believe. Together, we will draw out your strengths and build on them to create a personalized treatment that fits you and your needs.
2 ratings with written reviews
April 30, 2025
I appreciate the 'friendship' tone to the therapy sessions, as well as the professionalism and feedback. It's very helpful to have some insight on my thoughts and actions, stuff i wouldn't think about to help me see why I'm doing what I'm doing. I always feel good after each session.
January 29, 2025
Dana used terminology to help me understand some of my thoughts that I was confused about. She was very good at explaining things so I could understand.