Dr. Venera Bekteshi, PhD, MSW, MPA, MA, LCSW

Where I come from

I came to the United States from Kosovo, and I know from my own life what it takes to build a home in a new country. That experience, together with my work and research with immigrant women, is the cross-cultural perspective I bring to therapy.

I shared some of that story in a short talk at the Society for Social Work and Research: watch my SSWR 2025 Brief and Brilliant talk.

My background

For more than twenty years, my work has centered on immigrant women and families. I co-founded the Albanian American Women’s Organization in New York, and my PhD research at Boston College looked at acculturative stress among immigrant women: the strain of building a life in a new country while holding on to the one you came from.

I have also spent more than a decade teaching social work and mental health in the United States and the United Kingdom. Today I see clients online, anywhere in Illinois, in English or Albanian.

How I work

My approach is culturally responsive, trauma-informed and strengths-based, and I draw on cognitive behavioral therapy and solution-focused therapy. We start with your story and what you want to be different, and we decide together how to get there.

Training and credentials

• PhD in Social Work, Boston College
• MSW, MPA and MA
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Illinois (No. 149.041975)
• Licensed in Minnesota
• Co-founder, Albanian American Women’s Organization (New York)
• Languages: English and Albanian