I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker practicing psychotherapy in Pennsylvania. I am based in Chester County and have worked in the area for over a decade. I’ve worked with people from all walks of life and, although we all have differences, one thing that connects us is our need to feel supported and heard while going through periods of change and transition. As a psychotherapist my specialties include anxiety and depressive disorders, healing from trauma/ PTSD including working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and women’s health with a focus on perinatal and maternal mental health.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
Our first session will look a little different that the sessions that follow. I like to hold the first session to gather a lot of different kind of information; some of this will pertain to why you are seeking therapy and some information will be for me to receive the whole picture of who you are. I also like to create general goals for therapy. These goals may be specific or more open ended- every person's needs are different. From there I like to allow time for feedback and questions so I can make sure we are both on the same page. After the session is over I like to take some time to map out what we've talked about to keep me organized and both of as accountable.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
One piece of feedback I always enjoy hearing is that I can make therapy feel relatable. I love what I do and I believe the client is the expert of their experience. It is my intention to make sure we feel like equals and that the person I am working with knows I am holding them and their time with the most respect. I enjoy learning and try my best to keep up to date with evidence based interventions and therapeutic approaches. Most recently I am working on completing my Perinatal Mood Disorder Certification. In the past, I have completed a Trauma Informed Care Certification and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
I love working with a wide range of people that are looking to take charge of their mental health and make changes that will strengthen their confidence and overall wellbeing. Most of my cliental includes women who are facing a variety of life transitions. My passion is working with those affected by perinatal and postpartum mood disorders. Because my first introduction into the field was managing a counseling department at a domestic violence agency, I have extensive education and experience working with survivors of abuse as well as women experiencing hardship in their relationships. I feel confident providing trauma informed care and understand the complexities that post trauma stress can cause on an individual.
About Danielle Bills
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Trauma Informed Care
Trauma can take on many different forms, but at its core trauma is defined by the individual experiencing it. What I mean by that is the way our brain processes an event and react to it should not be scrutinized or up for debate by anyone. I've seen this first hand working with survivors of abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, birth trauma and loss. It is a delicate balance not only between aligning our mental health, but our physical response to trauma as well. My treatment approach starts with the question "what has happen to you" instead of "what is wrong with you." I go at your pace, in hopes we can reteach the brain from automatically turning on it's stress response to realizing we are safe.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT works by the principle that our thoughts affect our emotions which affects our behaviors and the decision we make. Once we think or are told something long enough it becomes automatic. These automatic thoughts become core beliefs that absolutely shape the way we see ourselves. When we start to question the reality of these intrusive automatic thoughts that are no longer serving us we can begin to create new ones that help us grow into a more positive and healthy person.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I love using ACT because it reframes the way we look at emotions. Have you ever gotten upset over something you swore you wouldn’t let get to you again and then got even more upset that you were upset in the first place? One principle of ACT is that we are not judging emotions as good or bad, but tools to inform us on what is happening inside. The behavioral part of ACT is the commitment we make to continue to promote healthy change even as we continue to experience the wide continuum of emotions that simply comes with being human. What this means is even if we feel anxious about something that we need not stop ourselves from self growth until we no longer feel anxious. Emotions, like anxiety, may be a normal response to a situation. ACT helps us learn how to coexist with those feelings instead of attempting to repress them.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
The central theme of this approach is using our physical feelings to get in tune with how we are feeling in the present moment. When we can slow down the stress response in our brain this helps us make more logical and informed decisions. When was the last time you took notice of how tense your shoulders are or focused on your breathing pattern? It may seem irrelevant to the problems you are experiencing, but we are swimming against the current if we don’t learn the skills needed to use our body as a tool and get in tune with the moment we are in in order to solve problems more effectively. I love the saying “you can’t fix a problem if you are in the problem.” The best way to get outside of a problem is to slow down the stress response in order to use your own executive functioning skills. Mindfulness does just that.