- CBT
- ACT
- Attachment work
About Dawn
Dawn O'Regan is an Iowa Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) with 25 years of clinical experience. She works with adults who are struggling with stress, anxiety, depression, and problems in relationships and family life. Dawn also addresses issues such as self-esteem, grief, addiction, and challenges tied to trauma and abuse.
She has experience in community mental health, private group practice, and running her own individual practice. Dawn spent four years as a bachelor’s level social worker before graduate school and later achieved her independent social work license. Her background includes supporting people through major life changes and chronic health or caregiving stress.
Dawn’s approach is client-centered and practical. She treats clients as the experts in their lives and helps them choose the direction of work. She uses a strengths-based and solution-focused lens to identify concrete steps toward goals. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is used to map how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect and to spot unhelpful patterns.
She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Attachment-Based Therapy to help clients notice values, increase psychological flexibility, and look at how early relationship experiences affect current connections. Mindfulness practices are woven into sessions to build emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills. Dawn sometimes uses internal parts work when clients are open to it.
Outside of clinical work she enjoys yoga, walking and meditation, and spends time with her life partner and two dogs. Her lived interests inform a down-to-earth approach to supporting people burdened by guilt or shame related to relationships, parenting, work, or past choices.
Approaches you may try and how online sessions fit
Dawn commonly uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people clarify what matters to them and take actions that align with those values, even when difficult feelings remain. ACT can be useful for people who carry guilt or shame tied to choices or identity.She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify and change unhelpful thought patterns that fuel anxiety, depression, or self-critical thinking. CBT offers concrete exercises to test beliefs and change behaviors that maintain distress.
Finding the right approach is collaborative. Dawn works with clients to choose methods that match their needs and goals, adapting strategies as progress and preferences become clearer.
Confirm current session options before booking, since the profile does not list specific formats. Online sessions can help fit therapy into a busy week, make shorter check-ins possible, and remove travel time from a workday. Some formats also reduce the need to be on camera or use high bandwidth, which can make it easier to attend when life is crowded. The therapist and client will discuss the best way to structure sessions to suit scheduling, communication style, and therapeutic goals.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
25+ years
Listed in
Iowa
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar issues, relationship and family problems, trauma and grief, and concerns like self-esteem and addiction.
How does she approach feelings of guilt or shame?
Dawn uses client-centered work and practical techniques from CBT and ACT to look at thoughts and values related to guilt or shame.
What is her professional background?
She has 25 years of experience in community mental health, private group practice, and individual practice, plus four years as a bachelor’s level social worker before graduate school.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is an Iowa Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) and lives and practices in Iowa.
Can non-U.S. clients work with her?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients.
What session formats are available?
Please confirm current session options before booking, as the profile does not list specific formats.
How are fees handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.