I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Master's Level Addiction Professional who has focused on diagnosing and treating a variety of clinical symptoms and disorders including substance abuse, addictions, eating disorders, trauma, depression, anxiety, as well as low self-esteem for over 10 years. I have often treated clients who have experienced persistent and varied emotional and cognitive symptoms resulting from long-term relationship traumas and abuse. I have worked with individuals of all ages with severe and persistent psychopathology, including psychosis and severe behavioral and relationship problems. I have worked in all settings, from private practice to long term residential treatment facilities, as well as psychiatric hospitals.
I have developed an appreciation for each client's perspective, unique needs, and challenges in treatment. I prefer to work in the framework of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapeutic modality, one of the most empirically validated treatment approaches. I am also certified in Traumatic Incident Reduction, or TIR, a therapeutic procedure that allows a person to desensitize painful experiences and reduce or eliminate the negative impact of traumatic, overwhelming events. I often integrate other theoretical orientations of therapy such as Client Centered, Solution Focused, Interpersonal, and Gestalt, focusing on reaching the client's goal(s) in therapy in addition to addressing and working to resolve the historical problem(s) that led to the distressing experience(s) that made the individual(s) seek help. Areas of expertise include addiction (substance and process), eating disorders, trauma, depression, anxiety, relationships, and communication.
Additional areas of focus: Stress and anxiety, Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Intimacy related issues, Parenting issues, Anger management, Motivation, self esteem, and confidence, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Depression, Coping with life changes, Compassion fatigue, Abandonment, Body image, Caregiver issues and stress, Codependency, Communication problems, Control issues, Coping with natural or human-caused disaster, Divorce and separation, Domestic violence, Drug and alcohol addiction, Eating and food-related issues, Emptiness, Family of origin issues, Family problems, First responder issues, Forgiveness, Gender dysphoria, Guilt and shame, HIV / AIDS, Isolation / loneliness, Life purpose, Men's issues, Midlife crisis, Mood disorders, Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Post-traumatic stress, Prejudice and discrimination, Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling), Self-harm, Self-love, Sex addiction, Sexual assault and abuse, Sexuality, Social anxiety and phobia, Workplace issues, Young adult issues
Clinical approaches: Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Gottman Method, Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy
FL LMHC MH12129
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Donald Ford. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.
Mr. Ford does good work. Responsive, listens well, good advice, and helpful. A great start for my first therapist!
Written on Jul 24, 2026 after therapy with Donald for 1 month on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, self esteem, anger management, coping with life changes, and adhd
He’s amazing !! I’m excited to be working with him!
Written on Jun 25, 2026 after therapy with Donald for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, grief, sleeping disorders, self esteem, career difficulties, coping with life changes, and adhd
He is a good listener and he does know how to guide lost people like me. I’m glad I get to talk to him here so I can face myself clearly.
Written on Aug 27, 2023 after therapy with Donald for 3 years and 2 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, sleeping disorders, self esteem, anger management, coaching, and compassion fatigue
Don is kind, thoughtful and very competent. In a short period of time he’s given me so many important things to think about.
Written on Nov 20, 2021 after therapy with Donald for 2 weeks on issues concerning trauma and abuse
I really appreciate the help you have provided through these months of working together. I’ve been told by numerous people a change they see in me. Some days are a struggle but other days they see a change that they love. You’ve helped me find ways to manage my stress, anxiety, sadness and often times the feelings of being overwhelmed. Thank you!
Written on Sep 21, 2020 after therapy with Donald for 4 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, grief, eating disorders, self esteem, and coping with life changes
Donald was my first counselor ever and I couldn’t have asked for a better one. He is encouraging, warm and it seems like he truly cares about his patients. He is open, very non-judgmental, willing to listen and express his honest opinion about someone’s issues. I appreciate his help very much.
Written on Jun 25, 2020 after therapy with Donald for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, lgbt, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, self esteem, and anger management