Donna Livesey

MSW, LCSW
Psychotherapist

Donna is a therapist who is interested in how your life story has impacted who you are today. As a therapist she is mindful of how traumatic experiences can affect how the therapy process feels. In therapy you can expect to discuss challenges and difficult experiences, but also experience lightness and laughter in session- both are important parts of our healing process! Donna’s core values are kindness, patience and empathy and she uses these to inform every session, how she’s reflecting on our work together, and what she might need to adjust or change to better connect and support you. 

Donna works across the lifespan with all ages - from young adults to seniors, including individuals and couples. She often works with folks who have struggled to feel like they’re making progress but are curious about change and growth. Donna enjoys working with folks navigating depression, anxiety, substance use, or the impact of childhood trauma, supporting them towards finding safety and peace within their minds, bodies, and their relationships. Part of this process involves learning and practicing self compassion, and challenging unhealthy external messages. As an integrative therapist she help clients in reaching their goals by pulling different tools from various perspectives including  trauma-informed therapy, harm reduction techniques, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing. 

Donna specializes in working with trauma survivors, helping you understand your trauma symptoms and work on increasing safety. She is skilled at supporting trauma survivors in managing their emotions while exploring their trauma stories. Donna is especially passionate about working with folks who have developed awareness and introspection around their challenges but who struggle to make changes to their substance use. Using harm reduction and motivational interviewing she’ll support integrating your insight and transforming it into real meaningful change. She also enjoys working with suicide-loss survivors; helping them make sense of and manage the complex grief that exists with this particular type of loss.

Core beliefs:

  • Positive change is possible, no matter your life stage.

  • Self compassion is one of the most important parts of any therapeutic approach

  • Therapy work is important and enlightening and people can learn from, and break, generational trauma

More about me: 

I volunteer at the Art Institute of Chicago. My hobbies include knitting, bike riding, and strength training. I grew up in Madison, WI and have five wonderful nieces and nephews.

insurance accepted

Aetna PPO
Aetna Medicare Advantage
BCBS PPO
BCBS Choice PPO
BCBS HMO Northwestern Medicine & Advocate Sites Only
Medicare
United Healthcare/Optum

Specialties: 

  • Grief/complicated grief (suicide)

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Substance use

  • Complex trauma

Practice approaches: 

  • REBT

  • CBT

  • Motivational Interviewing

  • Harm Reduction

  • Trauma-informed therapy

  • Grief-informed therapy.