Deanna Davis
MA, LPC, LFT, ACS, AAMFT-S, SEP
Clinical and Senior Director, Approved Clinical Supervisor, AAMFT Approved Supervisor and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner
“Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.” Dr. Peter Levine
Expertise
I am both a fully Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor. I hold a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy along with certificates in Trauma Counseling and Spirituality and Counseling from Richmont Graduate University.
I have completed the extensive 3 year training process to be a *Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, the **Externship and Core Skills trainings in Emotion Focused Couples Therapy, and am an ***Internal Family Systems Informed therapist. I have completed additional training in ****Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction based on the work of John Kabat Zinn. I appreciate how incorporating these 4 specific modalities can help alleviate suffering different domains of human functioning – the head, heart, body and soul. I often work with couples where one or both partners have experienced trauma. I have done extended supervision in Internal Family Systems and am trained in EMDR. I serve as Adjunct Faculty at Richmont Graduate University teaching in the trauma certificate program.
Before coming to RTC, I worked at a psychiatric hospital in a women’s trauma unit and adult recovery program, where I led education and process groups on trauma recovery, emotional/relational health skills, and offered family therapy. I loved being someone’s first experience with mental health services, and helping those who might be in the middle of one of the worst days of their lives find hope and practical steps to moving forward.
Connect with Deanna Davis
Clinical and Senior Director, Approved Clinical Supervisor, AAMFT Approved Supervisor and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner
I am a trauma specialist and couples therapist with over 30 years of experience in the helping professions. I work with individuals navigating painful seasons of life—whether they’re processing past wounds, facing relationship stress, or seeking meaningful personal growth. I combine the science of modern trauma, attachment, and therapeutic research with the art of knowing how to gently walk alongside those in pain. People who work with me often describe me as having a mature and soothing presence, along with an ability to bring clarity and direction to complex or intense situations quickly.
How I Can Help:
Counseling – I work with individuals and couples working through trauma, PTSD/ Complex or Developmental trauma. relational distress, co-dependence, grief/loss, difficult transitions, mid-life and quarter-life issues, men in mid-late life re-adjustment, spiritual crisis, dark nights of the soul, and broken hearts. I often work with those in the helping professions including therapists, cross-cultural workers, ministry, educators and medical professional. I also work with high responsibility organizational leaders who carry the heavy burden of leadership and caring for others, and want to be personally healthy doing so.
Supervision – In addition to my counseling work, I am credentialed as an Approved Clinical Supervisor and AAFMT Approved Supervisor. I offer clinical supervision to counseling students and counselors in their education and licensure journey as both LPCs and LMFTs. It is a passion of mine to help train future and developing clinicians to be skilled, trauma-informed therapists who are able to help alleviate suffering in the world.
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About Deanna
A specialization and joy of mine is to help helpers and leaders. I am a therapist for therapists, those in ministry, missions, cross-cultural work, medical personnel, and teachers. Alongside my work as a trauma and couples therapist, I am also a seminar and retreat leader, specializing in:
- the integration of the inner and outer life
- the intersections of spiritual, emotional, and relational health,
- the shaping role of trauma in one’s faith
- contemplative practices that lead to inner healing and spiritual growth
I am a cross-cultural and third culture adult, have lived overseas for several years working with university students, and regularly travel internationally to offer member care various missions/ministry/NGO agencies. While overseas, I often teach on these themes and mentor young leaders. I am a contemplative, and have completed the 19th annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. I view it as a sacred privilege and calling to walk alongside those experiencing dark nights of the soul, and specialize in working with those who must incorporate their faith with their trauma and relational work.
I have completed coursework at Dallas Theological Seminary and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and have served in various capacities in university, women’s, church-based and international ministries for many years. While I hold a Christian worldview and can offer faith-based counseling for those who request it, I considers it a privilege to hold safe, non-judgmental and open space for people from any or no spiritual tradition. I welcome any questions from clients who are curious about this part of my work.
I am a member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, The Licensed Professional Counselors of Georgia, and The Georgia Association for Marriage and Family Therapists. I am an adult 3rd culture kid, a big fan of good coffee, love walking both in nature and new cities, and am an avid reader.
*Somatic Experiencing is a gentle yet powerful body-based method for facilitating the healing of trauma’s impact on the body and nervous system. It is based on the work of Dr. Peter Levine. **Emotion Focused Therapy, based on the work of Dr. Sue Johnson, is the gold standard in couples’ therapy. EFT uses attachment science to work with people’s emotional and relational distress, helping couples address the difficult things in their hearts and relationship in a way that brings deep personal and relational healing, and greater connection with one another.
***Internal Family Systems is an evidence based, transformative, and non-judgmental model of therapy that focuses on healing the parts of self that are injured and disrupted as a result of trauma. It is gentle, non-judgmental, and powerfully effective in bringing relief to many trauma symptoms, and many coping strategies that have outlived their usefulness. It is based on the work of Dr. Richard Schwartz.
**** Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a program developed in 1979 by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Rooted in mindfulness meditation, body awareness, and yoga, MBSR was designed to help individuals manage stress, pain, and illness through nonjudgmental present-moment awareness. Extensive empirical research has demonstrated MBSR’s effectiveness in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, making it a valuable tool in counseling to enhance emotional regulation and
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Interesting Facts About Deanna
Fun Fact
Deanna is an adult third culture kid who finds international travel and exploring new cultures endlessly fascinating.
Favorite Food
Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups
Hobbies
Walking outdoors, reading nerdy books, and coffee with friends.
Now Accepting New Clients
Monday - Thursday
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM