Jennifer Dawdy
LSCSW, LCAC
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master’s in Social Work. In addition, I am a Licensed Clinical Addiction Counselor (LCAC) and speak both English and Spanish. My passion is helping families by empowering them to discover, learn, and attain emotional and mental wellness. I have dedicated my career to working with families in various capacities including individual counseling, couples counseling, home studies for adoption and other types of placement as well as family counseling.
I have experience working with a very culturally diverse population and I have lived, volunteered and worked in countries in Latin America and Asia. This has helped me become more culturally aware and embrace the diverse experiences of the families I serve. For more than 20 years, I have provided a wide range of counseling and services to families, including; anxiety support, family building counseling, grief and loss counseling, parenting support, addiction counseling, conflict resolution, EAP short-term counseling, and transitioning life circumstances.
In my work and in my personal experience of losing a child, undergoing miscarriages and battling with secondary fertility, I have seen how few specialized services exist for families facing unique circumstances and exploring options of family building. Counseling can offer couples a safe place to process these losses and consider the direction a family wants to take. After visiting family building clinics, I realized that some families would make more progress with a counseling service in the comfort of their own home. Virtual counseling at home is especially helpful in cases of clients who are on bed rest or recovering from a miscarriage or birth. Families may also benefit from talking about various life transitions at home rather than in a clinical setting. I have offices in Overland Park and Kansas City, Kansas in addition to offering sessions in a virtual setting.
I will never forget my unease when the social worker came to my bedside to talk about the loss of our son. But when I heard she had also lost her daughter, I suddenly felt I could open up and talk to her. Your professional won’t know how you feel but for some experiences in life it is helpful to speak to someone who knows the degree to which a heart can hurt and that healing is possible.
I have specialized training to help people with trauma as well as with loss and grief.