- Years in practice
- 25
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- California, Arizona
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Addictions
- Focus
- Grief
- Focus
- Parenting issues
About Dorothy
Dorothy Pedro is a licensed clinical social worker with 25 years in direct practice. She focuses on parenting concerns along with grief, addiction, stress, anxiety, and relationship and family challenges. Dorothy writes simply and listens closely to help parents make concrete plans and next steps.
She spent much of her career in acute care hospitals, where she worked with people facing trauma, life-changing illness, and bereavement. Those years sharpened her clinical judgment and taught practical ways to support people through sudden crisis.
Background and approach
She uses motivational interviewing to help people set goals and take small steps forward when life feels chaotic. Dorothy has experience coordinating with schools, courts, and child protective services and has worked in a school-based homeless program providing meals, counseling, home visits, and resources. She has provided parenting education, group work, and both individual and family-focused sessions.
Her most-used framework for family work is systems theory. She looks for strengths in different parts of a family’s life and tries change in one area that can create positive ripple effects elsewhere. This often leads to practical shifts that feel doable for parents and caregivers.
Dorothy aims to be compassionate and straightforward. She treats therapy as teamwork, helping parents prioritize safety and the well-being of children while co-creating realistic plans. When brief support will do, she keeps it focused; when deeper work is needed, she adjusts the intensity to fit the family’s needs.
What Dorothy works with
Everything Dorothy lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Dorothy helps people with.
- Addictions
- Grief
- Parenting issues
- Compassion fatigue
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Traumatic brain injury
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Dorothy lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify what matters most and take small, values-driven steps even when feelings are hard. It can be useful for parenting stress, anxiety, and coping with life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety, manage mood, or change patterns that get in the way of daily functioning.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Dorothy will collaborate with each person to choose methods that fit their goals and preferences. She may combine ACT and CBT techniques and adapt pacing depending on how much support a family needs at the time.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports short check-ins, and text-based messaging can help with quick reflections or between-session reminders. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy family schedules and to continue work consistently over time.
Questions people ask about Dorothy
What concerns does she help with?
Dorothy addresses parenting challenges plus a wide range of issues including grief, addictions, stress, anxiety, relationship and family problems, trauma and abuse, eating and sleeping concerns, mood disorders, and coping with life changes.
How would she describe her therapeutic style?
She takes a listening, practical approach and treats therapy as teamwork. Sessions focus on clear goals, small steps, and strategies parents can try between meetings.
What is her professional background?
She has 25 years of clinical experience and many years working in acute care hospitals supporting people through trauma, serious illness, and grief.
What credentials and region does she practice in?
Dorothy is an LCSW licensed in California and Arizona and practices from Arizona.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How are session costs handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the steps to begin working together?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.
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