Petaluma, California | Anywhere Virtually in CA
Therapy for adults and parents
navigating anxiety and life transitions
This page offers an introduction to me, my therapeutic approach, my clinical background, and the reasons I focus on supporting parents alongside broader adult mental health care.
I’m Dana.
I work with parents navigating anxiety, pregnancy, postpartum, and the internal shifts that often accompany major life transitions.
Many people arrive in therapy unsettled by thoughts or emotions they didn’t expect, especially during stages of life that are often framed as meaningful or fulfilling.
My role is to offer a steady, thoughtful space to explore those experiences honestly and with care, while working toward change that feels sustainable and grounded.
Why do I focus on parents and their mental health?
Choosing a therapist is personal, and it matters - during pregnancy, postpartum, loss, fertility challenges or other high stress life transitions. These are not times for rushed work or generic care.
My background directly shapes how I work. It informs how I pace sessions, what I prioritize, and how carefully I hold the experiences clients bring into the room.
I began my clinical work in 2010, supporting children and families in community mental health, nonprofit settings, and public child welfare across Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sonoma, and Marin Counties. Much of this work involved parents navigating trauma, substance use, domestic violence, serious mental illness, and high-stress family systems, often with very young children.
Over the years, I spent significant time in hospital rooms with brand-new parents during the earliest moments after birth. Being present during those vulnerable hours made it clear how frequently emotional distress during pregnancy and postpartum goes unnoticed, minimized or unsupported. That experience shaped my focus on perinatal mental health.
Becoming a parent myself further informed my clinical lens. Experiencing pregnancy, postpartum, and the ongoing mental load of parenting clarified how layered and demanding these seasons can be, even with support in place. This combination of professional experience and lived understanding led me to pursue advanced training in perinatal mental health.
Today, I work primarily with adults (many of them parents) navigating anxiety, intrusive thoughts, OCD, emotional overwhelm, pregnancy, postpartum, and identity shifts. My approach is steady, collaborative and grounded in evidence based care, with attention to both emotional safety and the realities of day to day life.
My Therapeutic Approaches
As an engaged and collaborative therapist, sessions include space to talk through what’s been happening in your life, while also staying connected to why you’re here and what you want to shift. I aim for therapy to feel grounding and purposeful—supportive in the moment and useful well beyond the session itself.
I’m transparent about the questions I ask and the approaches I use. Different tools are helpful at different times, and therapy is shaped around what fits you, not the other way around.
Some of the approaches I may draw from include:
These approaches are tools, not rigid frameworks. Therapy is collaborative, and we adjust the work as your needs evolve.
While my private practice focuses on adult clients, I remain closely connected to work with children and families through roles at Mother Care Support and Sonoma County’s Family, Youth, and Children’s Services.
I believe therapy should be accessible, affirming, and grounded in real-world experience. I work with clients across a wide range of identities and family structures, including LGBTQIA+ individuals, same-sex couples, single parents, single mothers by choice, and co-parents. My goal is to create a space that feels inclusive, respectful, and attuned to the realities of modern families.
How to Get Started
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Reach Out
Start by filling out the contact form. We’ll schedule a free 15-minute consultation call to talk briefly about what’s bringing you here and see if working together feels like a good fit.
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Get Set Up
If we decide to move forward, we’ll schedule your first session. I’ll send you a few simple forms to complete online through my secure client portal so everything feels settled before we begin.
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Begin Therapy
Our first 50-minute session is a chance to slow things down. We’ll get to know each other, talk through what you’re navigating right now, and begin shaping goals that feel realistic and supportive for you.
