About Dana
Dana's Experience
Dana Williams is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who approaches each client from a strengths-based and holistic perspective with the goal of empowering clients to overcome obstacles that prohibit them from living fulfilled lives. Dana believes that with proper support, every individual has the power to make fundamental and permanent positive changes in their lives. Dana uses an empathetic and nurturing perspective in order to facilitate a comfortable and safe therapeutic environment and allow for maximum progress, while also challenging clients, when appropriate, to encourage forward movement. Dana’s educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Wayne State University and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Madonna University. Dana has achieved an additional Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Fellowship Certification from Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute, and is a Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Dana believes that healthy attachments and positive relationships are the foundation for optimal mental health and well being. Dana is experienced in helping clients to identify areas of need and build skills that will allow for improved relationships with one’s partner, friends, family members, and/or co-workers. Most recently, she has worked with children with attachment disorders and individuals who have experienced significant trauma in their lives. To help her clients reach their goals, Dana utilizes proven techniques such as Trauma-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy and Mindfulness Therapy, to name a few. Dana is qualified to see children, adolescents, adults and families.
In addition to therapy services, she also provides timely, comprehensive evaluations for learning disabilities, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders, emotional difficulties, behavioral difficulties, personality and character difficulties for people of all ages. Standardized testing is provided. Clear, understandable recommendations are offered. All services are provided in a professional, convenient, and confidential setting. Please call to see if an evaluation is right for you or your child.
Dana's Thoughts on Therapy - An Analogy
The analogy I use is that therapy is like researching a specific topic of interest. We engage in the learning process with curiosity and study until we have a deep understanding and mastery. Often, people will spend a life-time learning about a passion or studying something for work, or school, but do we really study and learn about ourselves? Typically, we just “go-along” never really understand ourselves. This is the work of therapy. But the subject matter we are researching, is ourselves. We dig deep to understand our unique way of “being” in the world and to make improvements in areas that are unsatisfying or no longer serving us.
Dana's Approach to Therapy
Dana Williams practices eclectic therapy, which means utilizing a variety of therapeutic approaches determined by the patient’s needs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is significant in treating anxiety, depression, OCD and many other struggles, to help make changes happen more quickly. Psychodynamic therapy, essentially looks at why we do-think-feel, the way we do. It serves a purpose for understanding our personality and our relationships, both in present life and ones that were formative in early years. Attachment theory is critical to understanding patterns of relatedness and why we are the way we are in our relationships. It includes habits of interactions and ways of relating to people, persistent or recurring emotional states or themes, self-esteem and challenges to it. This avenue of treatment is helpful in understanding oneself at a deeper level, and identifying persistent or unsatisfying patterns in life such as difficulties making a commitment, habitual self-sabotage, or other forms of imbalanced behavior. Mindfulness and acceptance is important in “stepping back” from issues, releasing judgment, and looking at things from a distance, for our future benefit. Empathic attunement and caring about the person in front of me, is a core value in all treatment, with everyone. Eclectic therapy includes many modes of treatment, some of which were mentioned above, and utilizing various approaches when necessary. It’s equivalent to having many tools in a tool-box., besides a hammer.
More About Dana's Services
Dana works as a non-judgmental, respectful, neutral voice, encouraging people to be open to learning about themselves. She helps people make changes through a strength-based approach, because seeing only the negative reinforces only the negative. It is important to shine a light on the positives of the individual. Everybody has them.
She helps everyone connect to their strengths while offering insight and inquiry to help them explore their emotions and patterns of thoughts and behaviors. She looks at boundaries, power, dependence-independence, flexibility and the ability for individuals to deal with change. She works to understand the roles that individuals take in relationships, their ability to communicate, to solve problems, and their ability to cope with life changes and events such as illness, growth of family, and death. Themes explored may include issues like trust and intimacy, co-dependencies or maintenance of maladaptive symptoms, communication problems, confidence, commitments, betrayals, conflict and control.
Sessions are tailored to the particular personalities, background and goals of each unique person. While the important process of establishing mutual understanding and learning new skills unfolds step by step, Dana may augment conversations with practical exercises to break out of old patterns and shift how people relate, respond, understand, and attune to new ideas. Helping couples identify key differences between them and working on reconciling them helps each to appreciate one another’s perspectives and understand the other’s words and actions, leading to a reduction of anxiety and conflict. Helping people take greater responsibilities for themselves, their own emotions and behaviors, allows them to develop appropriate boundaries and healthy levels of independence and interdependence, most likely to lead to healthy relationships.