Donald Songy, PhD, LPC, NCC

First, the professional stuff. I received my Bachelor's of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2011. Afterward, I achieved a Master's of Arts in Counseling from the University of Holy Cross with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy and was the recipient of an award for the "Most Outstanding Graduate Student in Marriage and Family Counseling" in 2014. In May of 2017, I achieved a Doctorate of Philosophy in Counseling Supervision and Education from the University of Holy Cross. My dissertation, Attachment and Perceived Social Support in Adolescence, focused on parental attachment and its relationship with a student's perceived social support with his or her teachers. I am a member of the Louisiana Counseling Association (LCA), a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), and graduated in Chi Sigma Iota (CSI) Honors Society.

I previously counseled at the Thomas E. Chambers' Counseling and Training Center and also at the New Orleans Growth Center, a private practice setting, under Dr. Thomas Fonseca and Joan Fischer. In addition, I served in the school system as a school counselor at Jesuit High School for four years. I was previously the director of the Student Assessment Program - an initiative designed to help students whose behaviors seem to indicate family, academic, emotional or social problems that, if left unchecked, could lead to negative consequences such as substance abuse. Altogether, I have provided counseling services across the city of New Orleans for the past eight years to distinguished families who have faced a myriad of issues. Families under my therapeutic care have faced struggles such as loss, trauma, divorce, anger, anxiety, academic turmoil, depression, infidelity, addiction, Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ADHD, Autism, Specific Learning Disorders), and historic iatrogenic strife and tension. It has been an inspiration and blessing to work with these families and witness their collective strength as they have overcome adversity.

Besides my love for counseling, I am also an active musician and love to write and play shows. I love stand-up comedy and enjoy cooking for my friends and family. Win or lose, I will always be a die-hard Saints fan and am proud to call New Orleans my home.