dadiana lopez, lcsw
ANxiety & Trauma Therapist LICENSED IN NEW YORK AND CONNECTICUT
ABOUT ME
Hi, I’m Dadiana Lopez—a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, first-generation Latina, and therapist specializing in anxiety and trauma.
Most of the people who find their way to my practice are high-functioning on the outside and quietly exhausted on the inside. They're carrying a lot. They've probably tried to think their way through it. They understand where their patterns come from. And they're still stuck.
That's not a failure of effort. That's what unprocessed trauma and anxiety actually look like. And it's exactly what I've spent over a decade learning how to work with.
I specialize in anxiety, trauma, and the patterns that form in the wake of both, including people-pleasing, low self-worth, perfectionism, and burnout. My approach is active and collaborative. I use EMDR, IFS, and somatic methods to help you move beyond insight and into real, felt change.
I'm also a human and someone who understands firsthand what it means to carry things that were never named, to feel caught between worlds, and to want something different without quite knowing how to get there.
That lived experience isn't separate from my clinical work. It's central to it.
My role is to help you understand what’s driving those patterns and to work through them in a way that creates real, lasting change.
Background & experience
I earned my Master of Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and am licensed to practice in both New York and Connecticut. I work with clients in-person at my White Plains office and virtually throughout both states.
My clinical background spans over a decade across outpatient, hospital, and residential settings, where I've worked with individuals navigating complex trauma, anxiety disorders, life transitions, and acute mental health crises. That breadth of experience shapes how I work: I'm comfortable with complexity, I don't get rattled easily, and I know how to meet people at very different points in their healing process.
I've received advanced training in EMDR and integrate trauma-informed, body-based approaches throughout my work. I also draw from Internal Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, CBT, and DBT depending on what each client needs and where we are in the work.
Credentials at a glance:
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), New York and Connecticut
MSW, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
Advanced EMDR Training
Internal Family Systems (IFS) informed practice
Somatic and body-based trauma approaches
MY Approach to therapy
I'm not a passive therapist. I won't sit quietly and reflect things back at you for 50 minutes while you wonder if anything is actually changing. I'm engaged, direct, and focused on helping you create real movement.
That said, I'm not pushy. I follow your lead on pacing. Safety and trust are the foundation of the work, and nothing gets moved faster than your nervous system is ready for.
Here is what actually happens in sessions:
We start by slowing down and making sense of what's beneath the surface. Not just the presenting symptoms, but the patterns, the history, the moments that shaped how you see yourself and what you believe you're allowed to have. We work to understand the full picture.
Then we do something about it.
Using EMDR, IFS, and somatic methods, we work at the level where those patterns actually live: in your nervous system, your body, your automatic responses. Not just in your thinking brain. That's what allows the change to be real and lasting rather than something you have to consciously maintain through effort.
Throughout our work together, you'll build genuine self-awareness, more honest relationships with yourself and others, and a felt sense of stability that doesn't depend on everything going right.
Most clients describe the experience as the most honest, productive, and surprisingly human therapy they've had. I take that seriously.
A little more about me
Outside of my work, I’m a mother, a wife, and a human. I understand what it’s like to carry a lot while still showing up for the people and responsibilities that matter most.
I know what it's like to carry a lot while still showing up for everything and everyone that matters. I know what it's like to come from a family where certain things were simply not talked about, where you figured it out by watching and adapting and making yourself useful. I know the specific exhaustion of being capable and overwhelmed at the same time.
Those aren't things I learned in a textbook. They're part of why I do this work, and why I'm able to sit with clients in it without flinching.
I believe therapy should feel like a space where you don't have to manage yourself. Where you can be honest, be challenged when it's useful, and be seen in a way that actually helps you move forward.
That's what I try to build with every client who walks through the door.
Ready to Get to Started?
You don’t have to keep navigating this on your own. If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or ready for something to shift, we can start there.