Diane Davis (she/her)

I was raised in a high control religion and know what it's like to go through a deconstruction process, still desire a relationship with your family of origin, and process religious trauma from spiritual abuse. I can help with black-and-white thinking, catastrophizing, scrupulosity, and spiritual bypassing. If you know what these words mean and think they might apply to you, let's talk about it.

I don't love the name "women's issues" because, from a feminist theory perspective, all issues are women's issues, and women's issues are human issues. "Women's issues" sounds like a euphemism for being on your period, but in reality women's issues encompass nearly everything. In therapy specifically, we can address pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, parenthood, career choices, societal expectations, and gender norms.

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." - Tolstoy. All divorces are different. I can help you process what yours means for you. Among other things, we can discuss co-parenting, custody arrangements, dating, sex, identity, emotional abuse, and, most importantly, self-compassion.

Narrative therapy talks about the stories we tell ourselves. A key concept from this approach is that "the person is not the problem, the problem is the problem." If you replaced your broken, problem-saturated narrative with a strengths-focused one, what would be the result? This is not to say that you need to focus on the positives in your past and your problems will disappear. It just allows for a reframe and shows the inherent good in each narrative.

To me, mindfulness is self-care. Check in with your system. What is happening cognitively, somatically, emotionally, and spiritually. Are those feelings in harmony with each other? Is there anxiety-causing conflict? What do you need to resolve the tension between those feelings? I can give you the tools to notice what your body, mind, and soul need in real time and respond appropriately.

We all have wounds from childhood that impacted how we related to our environment. Those adaptations were appropriate and life-saving as children. As adults, they may be contributing to stress and unease in our current relationships. Connection is our deepest desire and greatest fear. NARM is proven to be one of the most effective treatments for complex and developmental trauma because it helps create psychobiological shifts in how we relate to ourselves, each other, and the world.

Most trauma and distress occurs inside of a relationship, so it makes sense that healing also happens in relationship. I don't subscribe to the idea that you have to be fully healed before you enter into a new relationship. We need relationships to heal. One of the best relationships to help with that is the relationship created in a therapy room. I show up authentically and with my full self to meet and embrace your authentic and full self.

I don't just use typical talk therapy to try to correct cognitive distortions or negative automatic thoughts. I use a depth-oriented approach that really gets to the heart of what it is you want for yourself and what is getting in the way of that. What are you doing, good or bad, to perpetuate to the current patterns in your family that are no longer serving you and what it is you most what for yourself. Together we'll explore how can you show up fully, authentically, and confidently..

It can be hard to find the balance between being codependent and hyper-independent. Landing on a healthy interdependence is the goal. But I don't just mean relationship with a partner, I mean relationship with your self, with others, and with the world. Trauma happens in relationships, so healing is also found in relationships. I am what's known as a Relational Therapist which means I help you find healing IN the therapy room THROUGH a relationship with me, the therapist.

I am trained in the NeuroAffective Relational Model for treating developmental trauma and adverse childhood experiences. This model is especially designed for healing attachment wounds and helping you live as your full adult self. Clients often walk out of my sessions boldly saying "I am the one living my life." If you struggle with codependency, family of origin issues, attachment or relational trauma, or just have difficulty maintaining strong relationships, I am the therapist for you.