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Dionne Fontenelle
About
Hi, I’m Dionne Fontenelle, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) based in Lithia, Florida. I was born and raised in Guyana, South America, and my personal and professional journey has shaped the compassionate, culturally aware approach I bring to therapy today. I am passionate about helping individuals feel seen, understood, and empowered as they navigate life’s challenges and move toward healing and growth.My background combines over 17 years of experience as a Speech-Language Pathologist with specialized clinical work in mental health and substance use treatment. Throughout my career, I have worked with diverse individuals across the lifespan, conducting comprehensive assessments, supporting emotional wellness, and helping clients build meaningful change in their lives. My experience in both communication sciences and psychotherapy allows me to approach care holistically, recognizing the deep connection between emotional health, relationships, communication, and overall functioning.
As a therapist, I value authenticity, collaboration, and creating a safe, supportive environment where clients can explore their experiences without judgment. I have experience working with anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, co-occurring disorders, and women’s wellness concerns, and I utilize evidence-based approaches tailored to each client’s unique needs. What drives me most as a provider is witnessing the resilience of the people I work with and helping them reconnect with their strengths, purpose, and capacity for healing.
My passion for working with autistic and neurodivergent clients developed through my 17+ years as a Speech-Language Pathologist and continued to grow throughout my work as a therapist. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to support neurodivergent children, adolescents, adults, and families in a variety of settings, and I quickly recognized how often neurodivergent individuals are misunderstood, overlooked, or expected to fit into environments that were not designed with their needs in mind.What drew me to this population was seeing the incredible strengths, insight, creativity, and resilience that many neurodivergent individuals possess, while also recognizing the emotional impact of masking, chronic stress, social rejection, and feeling misunderstood. I became passionate about creating spaces where clients feel accepted as they are rather than pressured to “fix” who they are.
My background in communication disorders gave me a strong foundation in understanding different communication styles, sensory differences, executive functioning challenges, emotional regulation, and social processing. As I transitioned into mental health work, I saw how important it is for therapy to be neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed, and individualized. I strive to support clients in building self-understanding, self-advocacy, emotional wellness, and healthier relationships while honoring their unique ways of thinking and experiencing the world.What continues to motivate me is helping neurodivergent clients feel genuinely seen, validated, and empowered in a world that can often misunderstand them.
My approach is strengths-based, compassionate, and affirming. I focus on recognizing and building upon each individual’s unique abilities, resilience, and ways of experiencing the world rather than viewing neurodivergence as something to be “fixed.” I strive to create a supportive space where clients feel understood, empowered, and confident in realizing their full potential.
