Dawn Nelson

Children carrying trauma they cannot yet name, adults whose substance use has outgrown their control, couples working to rebuild after betrayal — Dawn Nelson has spent her career with the people other clinicians find hardest to reach. Based in Rockwall, Texas, this Licensed Clinical Social Worker brings unusual depth to her generalist practice: her early clinical years included supporting cancer patients and their families through the emotional weight of serious illness at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, followed by intensive sexual-trauma treatment work at the Masters & Johnson center in New Orleans.

Today her caseload spans individuals, couples, families, and groups dealing with anxiety, anger, depression, grief, abuse recovery, and crisis. Parent-child conflict, school struggles, and marital strain all fall within her range — and when a client’s evenings have been swallowed by compulsive gaming or scrolling at the expense of sleep and connection, her impulse-control and behavioral work gives them a concrete route back. Her credential set runs deep: U.S. Department of Transportation Substance Abuse Professional, Certified Anger Resolution Therapist, Parenting Facilitator, Professional Mediator, and State of Texas Board Approved Supervisor for social work clinicians.

Dawn earned her M.S. in Social Work and B.A. in Psychology and English at the University of Texas at Austin, teaches as Clinical Instructor at Texas A&M University-Commerce, and chairs the Dallas-North Central Texas NASW branch. Online sessions are available.