About Deanna

I’m always happy to discuss my clinical perspective. The mindset I take is nuanced, and often multiple approaches can meet a client’s needs.

I approach counseling from an experiential and existential perspective. I almost always use an attachment lens, and I frequently draw from postmodern (feminist, multicultural, narrative) therapy. I tend to use practical techniques from Motivational Interviewing, and often work from a harm reduction perspective with concerns around substance use. With couples, I often use Emotionally Focused Therapy and integrate pieces from the Gottman Method as needed. I draw from all these approaches, and more, whenever I feel it's clinically appropriate. 

That said, therapy often requires creativity! For example, I don’t call myself a DBT therapist, but I happily use DBT techniques when the circumstances are right and when I think it could benefit the client. It's a careful and deliberate blend that's largely dependent on what someone is bringing into therapy.

I believe that much of our pain in relationships comes from the tension between a deep desire to maintain our relationships, and a deep desire to be our authentic selves.

I once had a colleague describe me a slightly off-color Mr. Rogers. I take that as a high compliment.

• NCC (Nationally Certified Counselor)

• LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor, Colorado)

• LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Washington)

MA, Counseling Psychology & Counselor Education
Couple and Family Track
University of Colorado - Denver | 2012

MA, Cognitive Psychology
University of Colorado - Boulder | 2006

BA, Psychology & Cognitive Science
Minor in Gender Studies
Carleton College | 2002

I have had significant professional experience in community mental health and university settings, and have been in private/group practice since 2019. I love the work that I get to do. Prior to private practice, I provided counseling in schools, crisis centers, hospitals, and both residential and outpatient settings. I have also worked as a counselor at CU Denver, and as a lecturer, researcher, and academic advisor at CU Boulder.

Advanced Training

• Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT)

• Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT)

• Clinical Supervision

• Neurodiversity in a Clinical Setting

• Motivational Interviewing

• Crisis Prevention Institute

Trainings

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Facilitator Training

• Existential Psychotherapy

• Gestalt Therapy

• Solution Focused Behavioral Therapy (SFBT)

• Applied Suicide and Intervention Skills (ASIST)

• NaBITA (National Behavior Intervention Team Association)

• PREPaRE district crisis response training

Symposia

• Transforming Gender Symposium

• Higher Education Diversity Summit, University of Colorado

Other

• Aikido (Japanese martial art) practitioner since 2007