About Me

Co-creating space for healing

If you are here looking for a therapist or group therapy, I want to recognize that you are holding hope that things can get better. Therapy can be an important place where you can make meaningful shifts in your life that will ease any discomfort or challenge you may be experiencing.  I believe in connection as healing and will bring that principle, along with my personal values of  empathy, safety, dignity, accountability, and creativity into our work together. My style is friendly, open-minded, curious, and down-to-earth. I am a LGBTQIA+ affirming and culturally competent practitioner. I am interested in co-creating space with you to strengthen resilience, reduce shame, improve emotional intelligence, empower communication, ritualize self-care, boost your social-emotional capital, practice mindfulness, and access your intuitive wisdom; through this you will be able to better understand and cope with challenges as they arise. 

My style and approach

My lived experiences as a queer woman, with my own mental health and recovery healing journey, has deepened my empathy for clients who come in seeking refuge and direction for similar challenges. I acknowledge the distinction between our stories, while honoring the importance of connection and joining. As a white cis woman, I acknowledge my privilege and commit myself to doing the work of consistent self-reflection, education and unlearning white supremacy, and deep listening to those whose voices are often overshadowed by the white and cisgender communities. I recognize that if you are BIPOC your options for seeing a BIPOC therapist are significantly limited. This is a result of systemic oppression in education. There has also been a violent history within the mental health field that has caused harm, and prioritized capitalism and managed care over the lives and psychological wellbeing of trans* folx and people of color. I want you to know that I will hear your voice, and that your narrative is yours—no “symptom” or diagnosis defines you, and I will not act as a gatekeeper to your healing. Therapy can be a place where we can explore and discuss racial and social injustices, systemic oppression, and the impact of discrimination and generational trauma on our bodies, our daily senses of safety, and mental health. I will never pretend or assume that therapy with me equals a “safe space” as I believe that safe spaces are determined by each of us individually, based on how we respond in mind, body, soul, and amygdala- that part of your brain that is responsible for sensing danger.

My therapeutic approach is rooted in the belief that we all have a voice that needs to be heard, and that therapy provides a space for your voice to be revealed and acknowledged. My hope for our work together is for you to discover that you already possess what you need to access healing, change, and whole-hearted living.

Many people who come to therapy have been given a diagnosis of some kind; I offer a fresh perspective that doesn’t treat the human conditions of living, desire, suffering, or responding to traumas as psychologically abnormal or unhealthy. Instead, we can redefine your relationship with all the parts of yourself and nurture a holistic perspective of your experiences and life.

On being radical

During my earliest social worker experiences in a preschool, I learned the principle of Radical Love. At this school, these tiny humans were regarded as having huge capacity for understanding and practicing the radical love values of revolution, altruism, empowerment, and accountability, among others. This guided me as I went on to work with people of all ages in many different settings. Since 2016, I have worked in a clinical role supporting people with substance use disorders navigate the bumpy road of recovery. I practice and teach the principles of Radical Acceptance––a key concept in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Radical Acceptance promotes the use of mindfulness to accept ourselves, our emotions, situations, and others as they are without denial, manipulation, distortion, or blame, in order to ease the suffering that comes with fighting reality.  Radical Healing is now at the core of my work, and encompasses not only the principles of Radical Love and Radical Acceptance, but also recognizes each person’s unique place in the world and calls for whatever forms of healing are needed––a “whatever works, works” approach. I find that when we give ourselves permission to heal at our own pace in our own radical way, it eases the worries of “not healing properly”, feeling “too broken for therapy”, or wondering “can I even call this recovery?” Radical Healing means that we will co-create a path forward together, with you setting the compass towards where you want to go.

Radical Healing will look different for everyone, and I would be honored to be a part of yours. During our time together, please know that you are my sole focus and this time is yours completely. I invite you to reflect on your needs and to reach out to me. I look forward to connecting with you soon.

Fun facts

I am an extrovert, ENFJ (Myers-Briggs Personality Type), Wood/Fire (5 Elements Archetype). I’m a fierce advocate for drug overdose awareness & prevention (got Narcan in my bag, swag). I’m a former rugby player. The most satisfying sound to me is breaking a York Peppermint Patty in half.

Rates for Clinical Services

$200 Initial Assessment, 60-75 minute session

$150 Individual Therapy, 50-55 minute session

Please contact me to inquire about my sliding scale rate for self-paying clients who disclose financial need, and low cost options for people without insurance.

Payment

Payment is due in full at the time of service. I currently accept checks, debit/credit/HSA cards.

I am in network with the following insurances:

• Aetna

• Anthem/ Blue Cross Blue Shield

• Beacon Health Options

• Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

• Maine Community Health Options

• Martin’s Point

• Medicaid/Mainecare

• Medicare

• United Behavioral Health (UBH)/ United HealthCare/ Optum/ Health Plans/ United Medical Records

Out of Network Benefits

Schedule a Session with Dani

Call or e-mail me to discuss working together.

Update: My therapy schedule is currently full.  I do not keep a waitlist, but encourage you to check back as I keep this section of my website updated when I have openings. Please feel free to reach out to other co-working members at Therapy For The People directly about their availability, or you can email me for a list of referrals!

I do have openings in my group, Queer Folx in Recovery, which meets monthly on Saturday mornings.