About Dawn
Dawn Whitehead is a licensed mental health counselor with two decades of experience helping people cope with stress and anxiety. She works with adults who are facing depression, trauma, or concerns related to LGBT identities. Her approach is practical and respectful, focused on clear steps people can take to feel steadier in day-to-day life.
She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thoughts and change patterns that keep anxiety or low mood going.
Background and approach
Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills are offered for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and reducing impulsive behaviors. Mindfulness techniques are woven in to help people notice their reactions and pause before acting. When trauma is present, she incorporates trauma-focused methods to help process painful memories at a manageable pace.
Solution-focused strategies are used to set small, achievable goals so progress feels real and measurable. These approaches are chosen to match the person's needs and pace rather than following a single fixed plan. Dawn aims to create a calm, nonjudgmental space where practical skill-building happens alongside listening.
She teaches anger management skills when that is a concern and supports work on self-esteem, body image, and relationship issues. People who are struggling with panic, obsessive worries, or mood changes can expect step-by-step tools and coping plans. Based in Rhode Island, she holds the RI Licensed Mental Health Counselor credential.
Sessions are offered in English and she has worked in the field for about 20 years. Getting started involves a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a session that fits the person's needs.
Therapeutic approaches for online care
Many sessions use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which helps people notice thoughts that feed anxiety or depression and practice new responses to those thoughts. CBT is useful for panic, obsessive worries, mood changes, and many stress-related problems.Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills are also offered to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills can reduce impulsive reactions, help with anger management, and provide concrete strategies for handling intense feelings.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work together with the client to identify goals, try methods that fit their situation, and adjust the plan as progress unfolds. Clients can expect a mix of skill practice, short-term goals, and review of what is working.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which offer flexibility for different needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversations for skill teaching and check-ins. Phone sessions can be useful when bandwidth is limited or when a quieter routine is needed. Live chat and text messaging are options for brief check-ins, homework review, or more frequent support between longer sessions. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while keeping the work focused on practical coping and measurable steps.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- Rhode Island
- Languages
- English
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