My Journey To Becoming A Therapist

What My Own Healing Taught Me

For years I was anxious and depressed. I used panic to focus and lived in a constant state of stress. It didn't help that I was a corporate lawyer, checking all the boxes and following the path that looked right from the outside even when it felt suffocating on the inside.

Instead of questioning the life I had built, I tried to fix myself. I spent years in therapy trying to figure out what was "wrong" with me. I kept thinking if I could just figure out how, I could make it all work. I was asking, "How do I fix myself so I can keep living this way?"

Then I found Gestalt therapy. It taught me to slow down, build awareness, and discover what I actually wanted. Instead of fixing myself, I learned to accept myself and make different choices. That shift changed everything.

I know what it's like to feel overwhelmed, stuck, despairing, and like something needs to change. That experience is what drives me to help others find what works for them.

My trusty companions.

All Humans Are Welcome Here

I work with people from all kinds of backgrounds and identities including queer folks, BIPOC folks, immigrants, first-generation folks, people who identify as neurodiverse, and teens and adults navigating identity and belonging.

As someone who is queer myself, I've spent a lot of my life navigating a world that didn't make space for me. Growing up queer in the South in a world that had very specific ideas about who I needed to be taught me to suppress myself just to survive. I know what it's like to feel like you have to shrink yourself to feel safe. We are all beings in context and oppression in all its forms is a major cause of distress.

That's why I'm committed to creating a space where you can show up as yourself, especially if you've been judged or marginalized. I also know I have certain kinds of privilege as a white, male-bodied person and I take responsibility for that.

And here's something I think is important: I don't pathologize. What I mean by that is if you're anxious, depressed, or struggling I don't assume there's something "wrong" with you. Sometimes those feelings are natural responses to being forced to live in a world that wasn't built for you. We'll explore what's true for you instead of what you're "supposed" to feel.

What Being a Therapist Means to Me

I get genuinely excited when clients start to see themselves differently. Someone walks in feeling lost and leaves knowing what they want. Or maybe they try something new in their relationships and it actually works. Or it could be that they stop blaming themselves and start seeing how much of their struggle came from trying to fit into a world that didn't make space for them.

What I love most is helping people change their lives. They leave relationships that have been draining them for years. They come out. They finally say no to their parents or their boss or the voice in their head that says they're not good enough. Whatever it looks like for them, those transformations inspire me every single day.

I'm Easy to Talk To and Won't Judge You

Here's what I bring to our work together:

●      Meet you where you are without judgment

●      Help you figure out what you actually want and need

●      Make space for painful emotions without trying to "fix" you

●      Use humor when it fits and sit with heaviness when it doesn't

People who know me often say I'm easy to talk to and that I keep it real. I'm curious, patient, and very present. I both work hard to understand what it's like to be you and will also share my own experiences and struggles when it's helpful to your process. I'm not here to tell you what to do or fix you, I'm here to support you in figuring out what works for you.

My Professional Background

I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. I earned my MA in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies where I trained at the Church Street Counseling Center (a Gestalt therapy clinic), the Bay Area Gestalt Institute, and the Greenlight Clinic (a clinic for teens and young adults).

I'm also an Adjunct Faculty member at CIIS where I teach Gestalt therapy.

My approach is integrative and grounded in modern relational Gestalt which focuses on awareness, acceptance, choice and self-responsibility. My work is trauma-informed and I believe that most trauma happens when we're not allowed to be in our truth and our power.

●      Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, California

●      Adjunct Faculty, professor of Gestalt Therapy, California Institute of Integral Studies.

●      California Institute of Integral Studies, MA Counseling Psychology, 2018

●      Bay Area Gestalt Institute, Associate, 2020-2023

●      Greenlight Clinic, Associate 2021-2022

●      Church Street Integral Counseling Center, Intern and Associate, 2018-2020

●      Pacific Gestalt Institute, training in Relational Gestalt Therapy – integration of theory and practice, 2020-2021

Start Feeling Less Overwhelmed

It's possible to feel less overwhelmed and more at ease with yourself. Therapy can help you get there.

I offer a free 20-minute phone consultation where we can talk about what's going on for you and explore how I can help. Call or text me at (707) 397-5587 or email me at dan@dancaultherapy.com to schedule your free consultation.