About Danielle Pientka, LCSW-C

Danielle Pientka, LCSW-C

Danielle Pientka, LCSW-C (she/her) received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2003, then her Masters of Science in Social Work in 2005. She has practiced in a variety of settings including foster care, juvenile services, schools, and private practice. She has experience working with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families, but is currently focusing on working with children and adolescents.

Danielle Pientka, LCSW-C (she/her) received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2003, then her Masters of Science in Social Work in 2005. She has practiced in a variety of settings including foster care, juvenile services, schools, and private practice. She has experience working with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families, but is currently focusing on working with children and adolescents.

She uses a variety of techniques in therapy, but she has a special place in her heart for animal-assisted work. She prefers experiential, psychoeducational, and solution-focused therapy models as she finds that practicing healthy behavior and thoughts can have the most impact in helping us meet goals in therapy.

Danielle’s Training:

As a social worker and therapist, I am required to take routine trainings called CEUs to stay up to date on the latest diagnostic criteria and therapeutic models. I also completed over 3000 hours of clinical social work experience and 144 hours of supervision hours to receive my LCSW-C. A lot of my experience has been with therapeutic models that are solution-focused and experiential. This is not the complete list of my trainings over the years, but focuses on trainings with information that I use frequently in my practice.

Animal-Assisted Therapy Trainings
  • Animal-Assisted Play Therapy, Level 1 Training with Traci Faa-Thompson and Lucy Llewellyn (2023)
  • EAGALA Training, Equine-Assisted Therapy (2007)
  • EAGALA Conference, 2004:
    • Recalibrating your EAP team
    • Horse training simplicity
    • Recovery from major mental disorders
    • EAP as an education model vs a therapeutic model
    • Experiential therapy: A safe stage to examine our human moments
    • EAP business plan writing
    • Head, heart and hands
  • EAGALA Training, Equine-Assisted Therapy (2003)
  • Animal Assisted Play Therapy with Maltreated Children and Their Families (2013)
  • Animal-Assisted Interventions: Incorporating Animals in Therapeutic Goals & Treatments (2022)
  • Animal-Assisted Play Therapy®: Meeting Clients’ Therapeutic Goals One Paw at a Time! (2022)
Play Therapy Training
  • Child-Centered Play Therapy (2025)
  • A Playful Panel: Play Therapy History and Learning the Principles of Child-Centered and Adlerian Play Therapy
  • From Play to Practice: Incorporating Cultural Humility in Play Therapy (2025)
  • Play, Presence, and Power: Intro to CCPT Practice (2025)
  • Pathological Demand Avoidance in Play Therapy (2024)
  • Understanding Thematic Play in Digital Work (2022)
  • Play Therapy Theories, Basic Overview (2024)
  • Bits and Bites: Prescribing Play, Using Play Therapy to Help Children Cope with Chronic Conditions (2025)
  • Adlerian Play Therapy with Dr. Terri Kottman (2026)
  • Body-Centered Play Therapy for Traumatized Clients (2026)
  • Treating Pediatric OCD Using Play Therapy and ERP (2026), 3 hours
  • Beginning Adlerian Play Therapy, 40 hours (2026)
ADHD & Autism Focused Trainings

ADHD Related Training:

  • Changing the ADHD Brain: Moving Beyond Medication (2023)
  • Russell Barkley, Ph.D. on ADHD in Children and Adolescents: Advances in Diagnosis, Treatment and Management (2023)
  • Rethinking ADHD: A New Treatment Approach (2023)
  • ADHD, Relationships, and Sex: Strategies to Overcome the Over/Under-Functioner Dynamic (2023)
  • Psychopharmacology: Essential Updates for Mental Health Professionals (2023)
  • Adult ADHD: Targeting Executive Skills to Manage ADHD in Adults (2023)
  • Extended Adolescence – When 25 Looks More Like 18: Clinical Strategies for Clients Struggling to Meet the Demands of Adulthood (2023)
  • Identifying and Treating the 1 in 5 students with ADHD and Learning Disabilities who are Returning to School Misdiagnosed and Misunderstood (2023)
  • CBT Strategies for Kids and Adolescents: Supporting Students with ADHD and Anxiety (2023, course focused on school refusal)
  • Motivation, ADHD, and Learning (2024)

Autism:

  • Abilities & Strengths-Based Autism Interventions: Help Clients Find Success in Education, Employment, Community, and More! (2024)
  • Developing Core Competencies as an Autism Specialist through a Neurodiversity Lens (2023)
  • A Practitioner’s Guide to Autism Assessment: A Strengths-Based Approach (2023)
  • Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and Play Therapy (2024)
  • Not Just Surviving, but Thriving with Autism (2024)

Mindfulness:

  • Mindfulness for Children and Teens: A Practical Approach (2023)
  • Personalizing Mindfulness Meditation Practice: Finding the Right Fit for Clients (2023)
  • Mastering the Core Skills of Mindfulness: The Key to Developing a Consistent Mindfulness Practice (2025)

Combination ADHD/Autism Trainings:

  • ADHD & Autism Medication Considerations for Therapists
Other Trainings
  • Food and Mood: A Therapist’s Guide to the Role of Nutrition in Mental Health (2021)
  • The Ultimate Grief Therapy Treatment Toolbox (2021)
  • The Art and Ethics of Talking about Death and Dying (2021)
  • Tools of the Trade: Exploring Concrete Techniques that Promote Client Progress (2021)
  • Glass Half Full: Exploring the Power of Positive Psychology (2021)
  • Level 1 Training on Couples Therapy with the Gottman Institute (2011)
  • Trauma, PTSD, and Grief (2013)
  • Hardwiring Happiness: The Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence (2013)
  • Treating Complicated Grief in Children and Adolescents (2007)
  • Comprehensive Child Therapy: Practical Approaches, Treatment, and Interventions
  • Ntu Therapy Model, including instruction in deescalating conflict and family interventions (2006)
  • Attachment Training with Adoptions Together