Petrovnia McIntosh, LCSW

Petrovnia McIntosh is a licensed clinical social worker based in Wisconsin who brings specialized training in trauma treatment to her clinical practice. She holds an LCSW - Licensed Clinical Social Worker - and a CCTS-I, a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist for Individuals, and completed a Master of Social Work (MSW) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work.

Her work centers on adults who experienced long-term childhood trauma, with an emphasis on understanding how early experiences shape current patterns of thought and behavior. Grounded in psychodynamic theory, she explores the function behind behaviors - recognizing that actions often developed as survival strategies during difficult circumstances. By examining the needs those behaviors met, she supports clients in identifying alternative responses and testing new ways of coping. Sessions are approached without judgment, honoring how past strategies helped people survive while collaboratively creating plans to try different behaviors moving forward.

Petrovnia focuses on multiple intersecting identities and systemic factors, including work with People of Color, LGBTQ clients - including those pursuing gender-affirming transition - and people living with HIV. Her clinical interests include stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, depression, relationship and parenting concerns, self-esteem, compassion fatigue, attachment and abandonment issues, dissociation, domestic violence, substance use, family of origin dynamics, gender dysphoria, and non-monogamous relationship structures. She also provides services in English and American Sign Language and attends to multicultural and intersectional impacts on wellbeing.