Mike Dashnaw, MS, MBA, MHP, Clinical Intern
Adolescents (10-18), College, Young Adults, Adults, Couples, Parents, Families
Anxiety, Depression, Self-Esteem, ADHD, ADD, OCD, Trauma, LGBTQIA+ Affirming, Bullying, Stressful Life Transitions, Troublesome Childhoods, Women’s Issues, Men’s Issues, Relationship Stress.
I’m a Glenview dad, former First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve, and spent more than 20 years as a marketing and consulting executive before choosing a new path as a therapist. On paper, counseling may look like a significant career change. To me, though, it feels like a natural next chapter—one centered on something that has mattered throughout every stage of my life: understanding people, helping them navigate challenges, and supporting them as they find a way forward.
I believe every person has a story worth understanding and the capacity for growth—even during life’s most difficult seasons. As a therapist, I strive to create a welcoming, compassionate, and nonjudgmental space where you feel heard, respected, and supported as you move toward meaningful change.
A Career Built Around Understanding People
My path to becoming a therapist has been shaped by a wide range of personal and professional experiences. Before entering the counseling field, I served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve. I later earned my Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Rochester and completed a certificate program through Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
I went on to spend more than 20 years in marketing and consulting, including leadership roles with Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and Mead Johnson Nutrition. Throughout my career, I worked with people from many different backgrounds, navigated complex challenges, led through periods of change, and learned the importance of understanding the experiences and motivations that shape how people move through the world.
Those experiences continue to inform my work as a therapist, particularly with adults navigating career changes, leadership pressures, questions of identity or purpose, and other major life transitions.
Family, Community & Life Experience
I’m also deeply connected to my community. I volunteer as a Scoutmaster with Scouting America in Glenview and the Northeast Illinois Council and serve on the Advisory Board for the Northfield Township Food Pantry.
My personal experiences have influenced the therapist I am today just as much as my professional ones. As a father of two children who have navigated mental health challenges, I have seen firsthand the courage it can take to seek help—and the profound difference that support, understanding, and hope can make.
Having grown up in a divorced family and later experienced the loss of my spouse, I also understand how unexpected hardships can challenge our sense of stability, identity, and purpose. While everyone’s experience is different, these chapters of my own life have deepened my empathy and reinforced my belief that we aren’t meant to navigate life’s hardest seasons alone.
How I Can Help
Whether you are coping with anxiety, depression, grief, relationship or family concerns, a career change, a major life transition, or simply a sense that something in your life needs to change, I will meet you where you are with curiosity, compassion, and respect.
My approach to counseling is collaborative and client-centered. I believe that a trusting therapeutic relationship creates the foundation for meaningful growth. Together, we’ll work to understand what’s happening beneath the surface, build on the strengths you already possess, explore new perspectives, and develop practical tools to help you move forward with greater confidence and resilience.
For some people, therapy begins during a crisis. For others, it begins with a quieter realization: The way I’ve been doing things isn’t working anymore, and I’m ready for something different.
I understand that kind of transition personally.
Seeking counseling can be a courageous first step, and I would be honored to walk alongside you as you work toward greater healing, hope, connection, and a more fulfilling life.
For Fun…
When not in the office, I like to play ice hockey, go hiking, travel, hang out with my kids or my two dogs.
Benefits of Working with a Clinical Intern
If you’re searching for a therapist, don’t overlook the opportunity to work with one of Inspire’s Clinical Interns. Many clients are surprised to learn that Clinical Interns often bring a unique combination of enthusiasm, specialized training, individualized attention, and extensive supervision that can create an exceptional therapy experience.
Some of the benefits of working with a Clinical Intern include:
- Personalized Attention: Clinical Interns typically maintain smaller caseloads, allowing them to devote more time, energy, and focus to each client.
- Current Training and Evidence-Based Approaches: As graduate students, Clinical Interns are immersed in the latest research, clinical interventions, and best practices in the mental health field. This allows them to bring fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to therapy.
- Extensive Supervision and Support: Clinical Interns receive significantly more supervision than many practicing therapists. At Inspire, interns receive supervision through their graduate programs, as well as weekly individual and group supervision from experienced clinicians. This means multiple professionals are invested in supporting your progress and ensuring high-quality care.
- Passion and Commitment: Clinical Interns are often highly motivated, eager to learn, and deeply invested in helping clients achieve meaningful growth and positive outcomes.
- Collaborative Care: Because of their close supervision and training environment, Clinical Interns frequently benefit from additional consultation and feedback, providing clients with the advantage of multiple clinical perspectives.
- Diverse Life and Professional Experience: Many of our Clinical Interns come from established careers and bring years—even decades—of experience in business, education, healthcare, parenting, leadership, and other professions. This real-world perspective can deepen their understanding of life’s complexities and challenges.
- Excellent Client Outcomes: Research consistently demonstrates that Clinical Interns achieve strong therapeutic outcomes, often comparable to those of licensed clinicians when supported by quality supervision and training.
At Inspire, we are highly selective in choosing our Clinical Interns. Each intern undergoes a thorough review and interview process before joining our team. We seek individuals who demonstrate exceptional clinical potential, align with our values, and are interested in building a long-term career with Inspire. Many of our interns continue with Inspire well beyond their internship experience.