Bio
Donna A. Johnston
Donna earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (BSW) at Eastern CT State University and her Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from the UCONN School of Social Work. She is licensed in the state of CT as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).
Since 2015, Donna has been working as a clinician (counselor) in a private practice. Prior to this, she had been previously employed as a clinician, clinical supervisor, clinical program manager, and as a clinical consultant. Her clinical work experience includes individual, couples, and family counseling, crisis intervention and individual assessments.
Donna works with adults 18 years of age and older. She specializes in domestic violence, PTSD, trauma, anxiety, depression, individual and couples/family counseling, high conflict parenting and animal assisted therapy (AAT).
If you have a child that is struggling in the academic environment, Donna also brings forth knowledge of the special education system. She can assist parents with advocating for their child’s educational needs.
Along with Donna’s clinical experience, she also trained for 3 years under a Navajo Medicine Man and for 11 years under an Apache Medicine Man. She has studied Native spirituality and traditional medicines. Donna’s clinical experience combined with her spiritual nature provides an atmosphere that assists each client on his/her journey towards healing and wellness. Through creating a warm and supportive environment, individuals can begin to process their life struggles and work towards restoring balance.
Certifications and Trainings
- Certified Domestic Violence Counselor 2009
- Couples Intensive
- Legislative Liaison Training
- Motivational Interviewing
- Criminal Thinking/Anti-Social Logic
- Group Facilitation
- Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R)
- Adult Substance Use Survey (ASUS)
- Psychiatric Medications
- Certified Parents as Teachers Educator 2013
- Trauma Informed Yoga
- New Rules for Treating Trauma Integrating Neuroscience to Rewire the Brain
- Working with the Spiritually Emergent Population
- Animal Assisted Interventions: An Incredible Range of Therapeutic Benefits
- Bringing Yoga into Social Work Practice
- Psychic Events in the Lives of Clinicians and Clients
- Calming an Overactive Brain
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)
Meet Brody! He has a happy-go-lucky attitude and an exuberant nature. He simply enjoys sharing his love and natural healing abilities with everyone he meets.
Some of the benefits of animal assisted therapy (AAT) include decreased stress, anxiety and depression, increase in endorphins (“feel good” chemicals in the brain) and improved mood. Furthermore; animal assisted therapy (AAT) helps to restore confidence, promotes a therapeutic environment that is calm and safe, provides a sense of belonging and assists with building trust between the therapist and client.
Accolades
Donna earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (BSW) at Eastern CT State University and her Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from the UCONN School of Social Work. She is licensed in the state of CT as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).
Make the Journey Back to Self Love
Through creating a warm and supportive environment, individuals can begin to process their life struggles and work towards restoring balance.
