- Client-centered approach
- Cognitive behavioral tools
- Mindfulness practice
About Donna
Donna Altepeter is a licensed clinical social worker with deep experience supporting people through hard life moments. She focuses on practical help for stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and relationship concerns. Donna emphasizes working together so people feel heard and can make changes that matter to daily life.
Donna earned a Master of Social Work degree in 1983 and has over a decade of practice reflected in 12 years listed in recent records. She draws from client-centered methods and uses cognitive behavioral ideas and mindfulness practices to address thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sessions move at the client’s pace and center personal goals.
Her background includes long experience with bereavement, life-threatening illness, and major life transitions. She also brings classroom experience from the University of Wisconsin social work program, where teaching shaped a collaborative, learning-focused style. That experience informs how she explains concepts and offers practical tools.
In sessions, Donna helps people identify patterns, try small behavior changes, and reflect on what matters most. She works with issues such as codependency, caregiver stress, aging and geriatric concerns, addiction, intimacy-related issues, and mood disorders. The work often blends skill practice with narrative reflection about personal history.
People can expect a respectful, steady approach that combines listening with clear suggestions. Donna frames therapy as a partnership where the client is the expert on their own life and the therapist supports discovery and growth.
Approaches that shape online sessions
Donna uses client-centered work that focuses on what each person brings to the room, listening first and helping clients set their own goals. This approach helps with decision-making, life changes, and reclaiming confidence.She also uses cognitive behavioral therapy, which looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions interact. CBT leads to practical steps and simple experiments people can try between meetings to reduce anxiety, change unhelpful habits, or improve sleep. Mindfulness therapy is another part of her work, teaching attention and breathing skills to reduce reactivity and improve focus during stressful moments. These practices often pair well with the other approaches.
Finding the right approach is part of the process and will be a team effort. Donna will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before, then recommend methods to try together. That collaborative plan can shift as needs change.
Session formats are not listed in the biography, so confirm current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, remove commuting time, or allow shorter check-ins when schedules demand it. Licensed professionals can adapt tools and homework to remote sessions so the work still focuses on real-life changes and daily routines.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
12+ years
Credentials
Wisconsin
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does Donna help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, grief, depression, relationship and intimacy issues, codependency, caregiver stress, addictions, and life transitions.
How would you describe her therapy style?
Her style is collaborative and teaching-oriented, using client-centered listening alongside practical tools from cognitive behavioral and mindfulness approaches.
What is her professional background?
Donna earned a Master of Social Work in 1983 and has extensive clinical and teaching experience, including time teaching in a university social work program.
Where is Donna licensed and based?
She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in Wisconsin and practices there.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients schedule with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are fees and billing handled?
Cost varies by location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.