An interview with Nickie Dunn

“I just love what I do”, she exclaims.  We’re meeting virtually, and already through the screen I can see how cheerful, optimistic, and compassionate Nickie is as she shares with me her thoughts on her career at Life Works Professional Counseling Center.  She paints a picture for me of how she came to become a clinical social worker - her parents were both clinical psychologists and she thought she would pursue that path, but once she realized how much research was required and how little contact with people, she decided to pursue an alternative path.  “I really prefer to be on the ground, in the community sitting with people” she says, and she couldn’t be happier to have found a home in social work.  

“The relationship is so important” she explains, when describing the philosophies that underpin her approach to clinical work with her clients.  “It’s not realistic for everyone to dig in and go super fast.  You really have to build up trust… Sometimes the relationship is the intervention”.  I can see that Nickie not only says that, but lives it out.  As I observe her in group supervision meetings and with other staff and clinicians, I see her considerate, caring, open-minded nature consistently displayed.  

When asked about her experience learning and growing as a clinician at Life Works Professional Counseling Center, Nickie shares “It’s been a completely different experience here [from other agencies].  I am growing, learning, and everyone at LWPC is so supportive and strengths-based.  I have competent clinicians all around me to support and orient me, and it’s incredible to be able to just focus on clients and doing things for them in my day to day work”.  

Nickie also expresses her desire to make mental health care more sensitive to a person’s context, including intergenerational and community-based traumas rather than just labeling people with a diagnosis.  “I dislike the power dynamics and imbalances of traditional medical models of therapy, and see that clients have the internal resources and strengths already, and it’s the therapist’s job to help provide the safety for them to access all that”.  

We’re grateful to have Nickie on our team!  If you’re interested in working with Nickie at our clinic, reach out to us today to get the process started. 

(Interview and writeup by Megan Conrad Anaya)

Read Nickie's Full Bio