Dawn Ascanio
Therapist + Therapeutic Coach
Life is hard. There are ways to make it easier.
Therapy & Coaching for
Trauma, Self-Doubt,
People-Pleasing & Perfectionism
Online therapy & coaching in Maine
to help women heal from trauma,
overcome self-doubt and imposter syndrome,
strengthen self-compassion and self-worth,
and change patterns that make life harder.
Schedule a phone consultation to find out if we're a fit to work together.
You may be looking for therapy because...
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Trauma or distressing experiences from the past are still affecting your life now, through painful memories, emotions, or reactions.
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Low self-esteem, self-doubt, self-criticism, or imposter syndrome leave you second-guessing yourself and make handling life’s challenges even harder.
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People-pleasing, perfectionism, or putting others' needs ahead of your own for too long leave you anxious, overwhelmed, or emotionally drained.
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Longstanding patterns of over-working, over-functioning, over-achieving have meant striving, pushing too hard, and overthinking for too long, leaving you exhausted and overwhelmed.
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Difficult relationship dynamics, conflict, communication problems, or trouble setting and maintaining boundaries can leave you feeling disconnected, misunderstood, and lonely.
Any one of these challenges can take a toll on your mental health & wellbeing over time.
How Working With Me Can Make Life Easier
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You can break free of old, unhelpful patterns and learn new ways of relating to yourself, other people, and the world.
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Your past can have less influence over the present, giving you more freedom and choice in how you respond to life’s challenges.
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You can quiet your inner critic and develop greater self-compassion, self-acceptance, and a deeper, more lasting sense of self-worth.
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You can navigate complex relationships more effectively through clearer communication and healthy boundaries.
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Overall, you can feel less anxious, overwhelmed, and exhausted and better able to handle the challenges of everyday life without overthinking everything.
Hello. I'm Dawn...
I love helping women overcome self-doubt, low self-esteem, and imposter syndrome, strengthen their self-compassion and increase their self-worth, change long-standing patterns that make life much harder, and heal from a traumatic past so that it no longer haunts their present.
I have 19 years' experience as a therapist and over 30 years' experience in the helping professions. When you work with me, we will do deep work in a short amount of time so you don't have to commit months or years to therapy. You will learn quickly why it's so worth your time to do therapy with a human being who has experienced much of what you're going through (I've had a big life in all the ways!) instead of toughing it out on your own, DIYing it with self-help books and programs, or using AI as your therapist or life coach.
Therapy Specialties
Trauma & PTSD
I offer a type of trauma-focused therapy called Written Exposure Therapy, a structured, 6-8 week treatment that has been shown to be effective in reducing trauma symptoms and PTSD.
People-Pleasing
I help women with anxiety and emotional burnout from long-standing patterns like people-pleasing, giving too much of themselves, and being overly responsible for everyone and everything.
Therapy for women who struggle with over-giving, appeasing, avoiding conflict, putting others first, or taking too much responsibility for other people’s needs and feelings.
Self-Doubt, & Imposter Syndrome
Therapy for low self-esteem, chronic self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and a harsh inner critic, with a focus on developing greater self-compassion, self-acceptance, and a deeper sense of self-worth.Low self esteem, low self confidence, self judgment, imposter syndrome, harsh inner critic, negative self talk
build deep and lasting self worth, self-acceptance, self-confidence. if you often feel 'not good enough' or 'there's something wrong with me' this is for you.
Perfectionism, Over-Achieving, and Over-functioning
I help driven women who have longstanding patterns of over-working, over-doing, over-thinking, over-performing, over-achieving, over-functioning.
excessive self-sacrifice and intense focus on getting excellent results or doing things the right way to the point of exhaustion and overwhelm.
Therapy for driven women who are exhausted from doing too much, pushing themselves too hard, and feeling constant pressure to perform or get things right.
Therapy for women who put intense pressure on themselves to do more, perform well, get things right, or take on too much, often at the expense of their own energy and well-being.
What Sets Me Apart
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Psychotherapist with 19 years’ experience. Over the course of my career, I have counseled adults, adolescents, children, couples, families, and groups.
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Varied experience working at organizations in a number of roles—including outpatient mental health therapist, substance abuse counselor, intake coordinator, parent coach, and crisis clinician—while also maintaining a private counseling and coaching practice.
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Advanced training and many years experience in counseling people using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and other evidence-based approaches.
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I've used all strategies on myself.
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I have personal experience with many challenges in life, including adverse childhood experiences, trauma, cancer.
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Specialized/Advanced trainings in:
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Written Exposure Therapy (WET)
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
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ACT for People-Pleasing and Perfectionism
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Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (FACT)
Starting Therapy: How It Works
1
Free Consultation
First, you contact me to set up a time for a free 15-minute consultation phone call. We'll chat and see whether I'm the right therapist for you, and get your questions answered.
2
First/Intake Session
We’ll meet 1:1 for a 60 to 75-minute video session (telehealth). We'll go deeper into what brings you to therapy, and take a look at what you want to get out of therapy.
3
Regularly Scheduled Therapy Sessions
Your therapy sessions are tailored to you and are focused and goal-oriented. We'll have weekly or bi-weekly sessions, where we'll work toward your goals.
*Location: You don’t need to live in Maine to work with me, but you do need to be physically located in Maine at the time of each session, due to counselor licensing rules. (I'm licensed in Maine only.)
Age range: I work with adults only (18+). I do not offer counseling for children or teens.
Format: I offer telehealth therapy only (secure 1:1 video sessions); no in-person sessions at this time.
Fees: Please see this page for a full explanation of fees and insurance coverage.