Dorothy Pedro , LCSW

Dorothy Pedro, LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), brings 25 years of clinical experience with a deep background in acute care hospital settings. She supported patients and families through grief, trauma, suicide risk, and life-changing illnesses, developing sharp clinical judgment to help people process difficult events and manage complex family dynamics. In less urgent situations she uses motivational interviewing to help clients stabilize chaotic circumstances, clarify priorities, set achievable goals, and create practical plans to move forward.

Her work includes supporting military families and children, and she spent time running a school-based program for families experiencing homelessness that provided meals, counseling, home visits, and links to community resources. Dorothy has coordinated with schools, courts, and child protective services to help families remain intact when possible, and she offers couples counseling, family therapy, group work, and parent-skills coaching while learning from the strengths parents bring.

Systems theory frequently guides her family interventions, emphasizing family and individual strengths and seeking indirect routes to change that can create positive ripple effects across relationships. She approaches family work as a collaborative team effort, keeping the safety and well-being of children and caregivers in clear view while trusting the family process to support growth.

Dorothy tailors the intensity of services to each situation, providing brief supportive interventions when appropriate and more intensive work when needed. If another professional would better meet a family's needs, she will assist in making a referral. She is committed to supporting clients as they pursue practical, compassionate paths forward.

Evidence-Informed Approaches for Online Family and Trauma Work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients clarify personal values and build small, practical habits that move them toward a meaningful life even when difficult thoughts or feelings are present. It can be useful for stress, anxiety, depression, and navigating life transitions.

Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on relationships and the ways early and current bonds shape behavior and emotion. It supports work on intimacy, parenting, relationship patterns, and trauma-related attachment issues.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) targets the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, teaching concrete skills to reduce unhelpful patterns and improve coping with anxiety, depression, and mood symptoms.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the process. Dorothy works collaboratively with each person or family to identify which methods best fit their needs, goals, and preferences, and she adjusts strategies as progress is made.

Online therapy offers flexibility to fit care into busy lives through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care, access therapists from different locations, and use formats that feel most comfortable for each person while working with licensed professionals and therapists who tailor interventions to individual circumstances.