- CBT methods
- DBT skills
- Mindfulness practice
About Dawn
Dawn Whitehead is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Rhode Island with 20 years of experience. She works with stress and anxiety, depression, trauma and LGBT-related concerns. Dawn also offers anger management skills and helps people facing life changes.
Her practice focuses on practical, skills-based work. She uses approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and mindfulness to help people notice unhelpful patterns and try different responses. Sessions often include teaching coping strategies, practicing new ways of handling intense feelings, and setting small steps toward clearer goals.
Dawn helps people process traumatic experiences by combining trauma-focused methods with skills training. That can mean learning grounding tools, tracking triggers, and building steady ways to manage distress. For relationship strain and identity questions, she focuses on communication skills and emotion regulation.
She works with mood-related concerns across a wide range, including bipolar mood differences, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive patterns, and seasonal mood shifts. She also addresses issues often tied to self-image, such as body image, shame, and feelings of emptiness.
Sessions are practical and direct. Clients can expect a clear conversation about goals, tools to practice between meetings, and regular check-ins on what is or isn’t working. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session.
How Dawn Uses CBT, DBT and Mindfulness Online
Online sessions can use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify thoughts and behaviors that keep anxiety or low mood active, then practice concrete alternatives. CBT helps with panic, obsessive patterns, and negative thinking by breaking problems into clear steps and homework to try between sessions.Dialectical Behavior Therapy focuses on building emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills. Online DBT-style work teaches concrete techniques to manage strong emotions, reduce impulsive reactions, and improve communication. Mindfulness Therapy introduces simple awareness exercises to reduce reactivity and improve moment-to-moment attention, which can help with anxiety and rumination.
Finding the best approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk about your goals and try methods that fit your needs and preferences, adjusting over time based on what helps most.
Session formats are not listed in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, shorten commute time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Many people find learning skills and practicing them between meetings works well with remote sessions and helps keep therapy grounded in everyday routines.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
20+ years
Listed in
Rhode Island
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, LGBT-related issues, anger, grief, eating concerns, self-esteem, and mood-related problems among others.
What is her therapy style like?
Her approach is skills-focused and practical, using tools from CBT, DBT, and mindfulness to help people change unhelpful patterns and manage intense feelings.
How much experience does she have?
She has about 20 years of experience working with a range of emotional and behavioral concerns.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Rhode Island Licensed Mental Health Counselor (RI LMHC) and practices in Rhode Island.
Are sessions offered in other languages?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions scheduled and what formats are used?
The profile asks you to confirm current session options before booking; follow the site prompts to see what formats are available in your area.
How does billing and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.