Dawn Dougherty, LCSW

Dawn Dougherty is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in California with 30 years of practice. She works with adults who are facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, grief, caregiving strain, and codependency concerns. She also helps people coping with trauma and abuse, parenting pressures, career stress, and the effects of major life changes.

Dawn listens to what feels most urgent and practical for each person. Sessions focus on making small, usable changes - setting boundaries, managing strong feelings, and improving communication. She draws on client-centered therapy to center the person's goals and perspective in the work.

Her approach also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to spot unhelpful thinking patterns and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills to manage intense emotions and cope with stress. Those tools are combined with mindfulness practices from her background as a yoga and meditation instructor when clients want them.

In sessions she tends to be direct and steady, helping people try out new ways of responding to old problems. She supports those living around another person’s drinking, moods, or crises without making promises about outcomes.

Dawn has worked across a wide range of life stages and concerns over three decades. People who prefer practical strategies with space for reflective work often reach out to her. If you want to explore boundaries, people-pleasing, grief, or burnout, she offers a practical, experience-based approach.

How her approaches translate to online sessions