As part of their Local Stories feature, SD Voyager sits down with, Dr. Dana McNeil as she talks about how she navigated her life, career, and business as an esteemed marriage and family therapist, and founder of The Relationship Place. Here, she shares her early career ventures and humble beginnings in a recent article as seen on SD Voyager.com.
In her early career, she saw that being a therapist is her purpose. She discovered that while she was still working as a property damage claims adjuster for an insurance company.
Part of my job was to travel to affected areas of the country in the wake of catastrophes such as hurricanes, floods and tornados to provide onground assistance to clients whose homes had experienced damage. As you can imagine, these clients were traumatized by their experiences. They were often in shock and some experienced guilt about having survived when so many in their community hadn’t. Many of them also didn’t have access to mental health care. I soon realized that before I could settle their insurance claims, I would need to provide my clients with support and empathy so they could process their shock and be able to participate in meaningtul conversations with me about their property claims. I found a great sense of purvose in listening to and valldaun mv clents experiences as thev shared now thev had survived their trauma. I saw how helpful it was to them to debrief their feelings.
When it comes to business, it wasn’t a smooth road for Dr. Dana McNeil at The Relationship Place, especially when the pandemic hit. A lot of therapy sessions were forced to be on video. A lot of clients canceled appointments to stay at home. She and all other therapists scrambled to provide technology and processes for telehealth consultations.
However, because of Dr. Dana McNeil’s innate knack for providing clients with top-notch therapy sessions and services, they were able to get back on track. Dr. McNeil shares why clients find their therapy practice one-of-a-kind:
Our therapy practice offers a place to find support, empathy, and outside-of-the-box ways of solving your problems. We aim to break the stereotype of what therapy is supposed to be like, and what your relationship should look like. We don’t have stuffy offices as you might find in a medical practice. Our therapy rooms are warm and cozy. You’Il feel you’re sitting in our living room. We don’t have impersonal therapists who can’t distinguish you and your situation from other clients. We excel in client care and will treat you as the unique person you are. We’ll never judge you. You’Il feel relaxed and cared for by our compassionate and genuine therapists. We respect all relationship types, people with all religious beliefs, and from all cultures.
You can read more of this article here.
