Susan Lynn Dascenzi LCSW

• Illinois, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, 149.012589

While in the field for over 25 years, providing Mental Health and Social services to individuals, groups, families, and organizations, I returned to school in 2002 to obtain my graduate degree and begin working toward my license. This led to work within the fields of Addictions, Substance Abuse, Mental Health, Sexual Assault/Abuse and Domestic Violence, Hospice and Bereavement, and the Department of Corrections. Once licensed in 2007, I opened a small individual private practice and joined a large group private practice while holding down full-time positions through the ensuing years at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Gateway and Westcare within the Illinois Department of Corrections, and Provena St. Mary's Hospital. Other part-time positions through the years, as well as the full-time opportunities, afforded me a wide variety of experiences in dealing with traumas of all types, grief and bereavement, addressing severe mental health issues on psychiatric units, and finding the balance between addressing day-to-day challenges that sometimes prevent an individual or family from moving into a sense of personal empowerment that helps them find happiness and feel capable of living their full potential and possibility. I have 25 years of experience in formulating and running groups of all kinds and specialize in working with those who are truly ready to begin taking back control of their lives that feels as though their past has held it hostage.