Dana McPherson, LCSW

Dana McPherson is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship strain, and life transitions. She also supports people facing trauma and abuse, concerns around self-esteem, and issues related to LGBT identity and family dynamics.

She favors a direct, respectful style and aims to meet each person where they are. Sessions are shaped around the person’s needs and goals. Dana emphasizes practical steps clients can try between meetings as well as space to talk through difficult memories and emotions.

Dana uses several talk-therapy approaches in her work. She draws on client-centered methods to build understanding and on cognitive behavioral tools to identify unhelpful patterns of thought and behavior. Dialectical behavior techniques and mindfulness practices are used to build emotional regulation and reduce reactivity.

Her background includes four years of professional practice as an LCSW, with experience across common adult concerns and some specialized focus areas like caregiver stress, hospice and end-of-life counseling, aging and geriatric issues, and cancer-related challenges. Dana has worked with people experiencing attachment and abandonment wounds as well as those navigating blended family dynamics.

She asks clients to be mindful of appointment policies and notes that she does not offer couples therapy. Prospective clients should check current scheduling and session options before booking to confirm a good fit.

How Dana’s approaches translate to online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening, empathy, and following the client’s lead. Online sessions using this approach give space for people to tell their story and shape goals at their own pace. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts and behaviors interact and teaches practical skills to change patterns that contribute to anxiety or low mood. DBT, or Dialectical Behavior Therapy, teaches emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills useful for strong reactions and relationship strain.

Picking the right approach is part of the work together. Dana will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their needs, goals, and daily life. That plan can change as progress is made and new concerns come up.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so please confirm current options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and let people use shorter check-in meetings when needed. It also allows practicing skills in the settings where problems happen and makes follow-up between sessions simpler. Licensed professionals can adapt exercises and homework for remote sessions so the work continues between meetings.