Dina Payne , LCSW

Dina Payne is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who focuses on helping people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, and changes in life. She aims to create a calm, nonjudgmental space where clients can talk through problems and begin to feel more like themselves. Dina is straightforward and approachable in sessions and emphasizes practical steps clients can use between meetings.

Dina earned a Master of Social Work at Saint Louis University in 2008, with emphasis on school social work and marriage and family. Over nine years in practice she has worked in several settings, including the foster care system, a college, and a high school. That variety gave her experience supporting people with addictions, trauma and abuse, and parenting concerns.

Her approach blends Client-Centered Therapy with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Trauma-Focused Therapy. She listens first, then helps clients identify patterns of thought and behavior to test and change. For people processing painful past events she uses trauma-focused strategies to reduce distress and build coping skills.

Dina also addresses issues such as intimacy-related concerns, eating struggles, self-esteem, career questions, ADHD, and multicultural matters. She is familiar with challenges faced by caregivers, those navigating midlife transitions, and people coping with isolation or loss.

Outside of work she enjoys walking her dogs, reading, yoga, and crafts. Her style is warm and practical, and she works with each person to build realistic goals and small steps forward.

How Dina’s Approaches Translate to Online Sessions

Dina uses Client-Centered Therapy to make sessions feel respectful and focused on each person's priorities. This method involves listening closely and shaping the work around what matters most to the client, which can help with relationship issues, grief, and life direction.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions. CBT teaches practical exercises to test unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors, useful for anxiety, depression, and stress management.

Trauma-Focused Therapy is applied when past events continue to cause distress. In short, this approach helps people process difficult memories, learn grounding skills, and develop coping tools to reduce their impact on daily life.

Finding the right approach is a team effort. Dina will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful, then adapt methods as work unfolds. That collaborative process helps people try approaches that fit their needs and make adjustments over time.

Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video lets people see facial cues and practice skills in real time. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging are useful for short check-ins, homework reviews, or quick strategy coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and maintain continuity across schedules and locations.