Dawn Blankenship , LICSW

Dawn Blankenship is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience. She focuses on helping women manage stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, ADHD, and life transitions. Dawn emphasizes practical support and steady listening for people who feel stuck or overwhelmed.

Dawn draws on techniques from client-centered therapy to meet each person where they are. She uses cognitive behavioral tools to identify unhelpful thoughts and develop new habits. Mindfulness practices and self-compassion are woven into sessions to build calm and resilience.

Her background includes work in adult and children's mental health and a full-time role as a school social worker. That mix gives her experience with everyday struggles and more complex life events like migration, hearing loss, and adjustments to identity and role changes. She also brings attention to multicultural concerns and immigration issues where relevant.

In sessions she aims to honor a person’s history, clarify current goals, and support steps toward wellbeing. Conversations tend to be practical, with clear skills to try between meetings. Dawn also works with concerns such as abandonment, body image, guilt and shame, and workplace stress.

She is based in Minnesota and conducts work in English. Dawn is comfortable using mindfulness and cognitive tools alongside a warm, listening approach to help people build steadier routines and clearer direction.

Approaches that translate to online therapy

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening carefully and responding to what matters most to the person. Online sessions use that same attentive, accepting stance to build trust and understand your goals. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical tools to change those patterns; it works well for anxiety, low mood, and impulsivity through targeted exercises and homework. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to calm the mind and reduce reactivity, which can help with stress, overwhelm, and building self-compassion.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide whether client-centered listening, CBT strategies, mindfulness practices, or a mix fits best. Goals, personal preferences, and the day-to-day challenges you bring guide that choice and may shift over time.

Online formats offer flexibility to fit therapy into a busy life. Video calls let you meet face to face and use visual cues. Phone sessions can be simpler when bandwidth is limited. Live chat or text-based messaging can provide brief check-ins, quick skill coaching, or shorter sessions during a break. These options make it easier to practice skills consistently and stay connected between appointments.