Trauma Focused Therapists in Bainbridge Island, WA

If you are a woman in transition, or are feeling disheartened, depressed or stuck, I will give you assistance in identifying and uncovering your strengths, and recovering your joy of life! Or, if you are a member of a couple or family having difficulties, I will offer support and teach communication skills, which can deepen and enhance those relationships closest to you. It is often difficult to identify our stuck places and painful patterns. I have found that talking things through with someone with sound professional training and experience can offer new perspectives and life possibilities, allowing change to happen!

Human beings are born with a desire to be seen, cherished, nurtured, witnessed, engaged, and comforted. People crave connection with one another, relationships fall short, hearts get broken, and our most genuine selves are buried beneath layers meant to defend against further wounding. My passion is helping people find healing and joy after surviving significant disappointment and trauma. I offer clients an invitation to grieve and to challenge defense mechanisms that undermine healthy relationship to self and others. I provide a safe and calm space in which therapeutic integration leads to wholeness and health.

"The journey we are on takes us in all different directions, testing us at every turn. There is help and hope. I have been honored to hear people's stories at various points of their journey; witnessing, observing, supporting, empathizing, listening and reflecting. Through hearing their stories, I have learned how fragile the human condition is, and at the same time, the empowering strengths and resiliency each one intrinsically has in adapting and surviving the difficulties put before them."

Hi y'all, I am honored you are taking steps toward empowering yourself! Suffering is an inherent part of life. Hardships in isolation, in aloneness or toxic relations, forms habitual patterns of trauma that can degrade our potential for living and loving. Yet when supported in holistic and compassionate relationships, our past pains have the potential to become present healings. Our trauma responses become wisdom to learn from, and our relationships become integrative dances of healing self and others. Together we can create a therapeutic relationship to unlearn traumatic patterns, empowering a thriving and flourishing life for you.

I have particular experience and interest in the areas of LGBTQ+ community and identity, grief, cptsd/complex trauma/dissociation recovery, dreams, the role of art and writing in healing, ecopsychology, and feminist spirituality. I have particular experience working with queer and trans youth, women recovering from religious abuse, and with folks who identify as ethically non monogamous and/or kinky. I work with adults and adolescents in person at my Bainbridge Island, WA office and California residents online.

As a client-centered professional, I recognize the strength necessary for an individual to take the first step through the counselor's open door. Through trusting and empathetic positive relationship building, I join my clients in the exploration of a healthier, self-accepting perspective in addressing the challenging components of their life experience. All areas of my practice focus upon acceptance and healthy management of personal questions through the discovery of an enhanced understanding, within a positive environment, which utilizes personal strengths to contribute to a happier, self satisfying life experience. Come take this walk with me...

I am currently taking new clients on a limited basis. I work with teens and adult individuals. I specialize in trauma, which underlies many psycho-emotional problems such as anxiety and depression. However, I am chiefly interested in working with people experiencing important life transitions and challenges, especially when they feel stuck, confused, or lost. I am available for a short, no-cost phone interview to answer your questions about my practice.

You know what over 20 years experience teaches me? Life can get better, starting today. Even after trauma, loss, or hopelessness. Even if you're anxious or think you've lost your way. Or if you're just ready for more! We all miss our best and brightest selves sometimes: the self who knows peace, strength, and connection. They're still in there! I combine the best of neuropsychology, energy work, and respect into a collaborative practice that brings your brightest self back and creates the habits to keep them. We'll attend to the body-mind-spirit and show you: you already have everything you need.

NOTE: client names were necessarily changed for confidentiality: "Dr. Danny sees the true issues with more insight than most." --- Tammy (professional teen girl advocate and club founder); "Dr. Danny has a keen understanding about the hidden struggles of people." --- Brent (therapist/counselor); "Dr. Danny's willingness to be real is refreshing!" --- Liz (wife, mother); "Without gimmicks or cliches, Dr. Danny fosters and facilitates a very safe space to know healing and freedom...to talk about what, before, could not be said out loud." --- Mike (minister)

I provide support for anyone experiencing any form of distress, depression, or anxiety. This is often expressed as unhappiness with your life, work, or relationships. Overarching my approach is an interest in the creation of meaning. How do you make sense of your experience? What do you want? How do you navigate life’s challenges and build reserves of flexibility and adaptability? Together we can explore these questions of purpose and direction to create new pathways. In addition to working with individuals; I am also a trained mediator and enjoy working with couples and family members on relationship issues.

As a Clinical Psychologist with 30+ years of experience, I strive to help you find pathways to enjoy your life, feel more deeply connected to others, and to enhance your sense of meaning in life. My goal is to help you find ways to better cope with the difficulties that bring you to therapy and make healthy changes that enhance the quality of your life. I provide evidence-based therapeutic interventions in a warm, supportive, and professional therapeutic environment. My approach is collaborative and tailored to the personal history and present goals of each of my clients.

Loving presence is at the heart of my practice. I trust the inner wisdom of each individual and view the therapist-client relationship as a collaboration. We all experience challenging seasons of life. In difficult times, we may realize that our habitual behaviors and patterns of relating to others are out of alignment with our core values. In our work together, I will gently encourage self-inquiry in service of realigning with your wise, authentic self. I believe that the body holds a deep wisdom that each one of us can ultimately learn to trust.