Meet Dana Strickland | Therapist & EMDRIA Approved Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dana Strickland and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dana, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
“Risk” as a noun means “a situation involving exposure to danger” while “risk” as a verb means “to expose someone or something valued to danger, harm, or loss.” I think about risk, like most other things in life, as being subjective to the individual and as existing on a continuum. We can’t exist in the world as humans and not take risks, even if you never left your home, there’s still going to be some level of risk. Depending on my own levels of stress, what seems risky might change and the perceived level of danger might be more or less (higher stress + greater perceived danger = greater risk aversion). I have to account for my professional ethics, the legal statutes that apply to how I do my job, etc. Sometimes as therapists, we have to think several steps ahead and try to come up with a plan for how each of those scenarios could play out and what actions we can take (or not) that will result in the least potential harm for clients, the people around them, our practices, our licenses and ourselves.

In my personal life I’ve taken risks deciding to date again after having had some pretty painful and disappointing relationships. I took a risk by marrying someone with a child and becoming a stepparent. I take risks by being vulnerable with others about my feelings instead of walling them off.
Professionally my willingness to take risks factored into going back to school to become a therapist; into leaving community mental health and the safety of a salaried position to become an Independent Contractor in a group practice. I took a big risk by opening my own practice, Full Life Counseling. I took a risk by remaining as a group practice even when it seemed easier and less stressful to whittle back into solo/private practice. I took a risk by opting to create/work within a niche instead of accepting any and every prospective client who reaches out looking for help. I would also be taking a risk if I said “yes” to everyone who asked for help (just less calculated).

I like to use a “costs and gains” tool to process as many sides of an issue as I can. This is more than a simple “pros and cons” list, I am identifying the options that I am aware of (including the option to do nothing/stay the same) and then evaluating the potential emotional cost or gain (pay off) using a 0-10 scale in which 0 is neutral (no cost or gain) and 10 is the greatest gain or cost. I write out all the potential costs and gains of an option then I rate them. Once I have the ratings for each section, I calculate the average score for each one. Which ever option I am ultimately going to choose, I start to plan for how I can take care of myself and try to problem-solve any potential challenges that I’ve identified through this process.

Overall I am a fairly risk averse person, when at all possible, I prefer not to be blindsided, caught off guard, or surprised by something. I also know that if I over-think how things might go wrong and start to plan around all of those, I can get stuck in a holding pattern (analysis paralysis) and miss out on something great. I try to remind myself that no one can predict the future, that I am resilient and resourceful and that I know enough to know how to get help even if I can’t solve a problem by myself. It’s important for me to trust the process of something and that when I align my actions with what I want that I am likely to get it, or get something even better than I’d originally hoped for. By processing my decisions, choices, resources and supports, I am able to create a more effective balance by taking calculated risks.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I own and operate Full Life Counseling which opened in Surprise, AZ in 2019. We offer individual therapy services specializing in working with current military, veterans, law enforcement officers, and first responders. As a veteran and wife of an Air Force retiree (and current law enforcement), I am honored to be able to serve a group of people who have chosen careers that many would not. We do this work without sacrificing allyship with typically marginalized people.

Full Life Counseling has been able to reach the point it is currently at because I’ve had emotional and professional support from several individuals and groups. I am most proud of how the business end of the practice is run and that we do work collaboratively as a team, in a way that aligns with the legal and ethical requirements that govern our licenses as behavioral health professionals, that we work in a way that honors our humanity. It has absolutely not been easy, especially having the start of a pandemic and subsequent “stay-at-home” order within the first year of opening. I’ve overcome challenges by opening myself up to learning things that I knew that I didn’t know and seeking out what I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I’ve learned to lean into asking for help and accepting contributions from others. I’ve learned to not make myself wrong for needing or even just wanting help. I’ve learned to pry my fingers off of things and not white knuckle grip the idea of security and certainty to the point of exhaustion.

We understand that we are not going to be the right fit for everyone, that’s okay. It would be kind of weird if we were. Sometimes that’s because someone is looking for a service we don’t provide, other times it’s a relational fit between a prospective client and provider. If and when we are not a good fit, we are happy to provide referrals and to do some of the legwork to help you find someone who is. Our ultimate goal is to help people find the help they need, because of this we highly value networking and collaborating with other professionals. There is more than enough room in this field for us all to be here and to be successful.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t honestly over plan too many things because I like to leave room for spontaneous decision-making just because something happens to sound fun at the time. I also like to leave time to recover social energy, both of us are introverted so that honors both our needs for quiet time.

Depending on the time of year (summers in Arizona are HOT), I would take my best friend to hike the Waterfall Trail in the White Tank Mountain Regional Park. We would go to the Grand Canyon because everyone should see it at least once, pictures can never do it justice. I would take her to see the meteor crater and to make the almost required stop to take a picture standin’ on the corner (in Winslow, AZ). I might try to talk her into a Segway tour in Scottsdale or Tempe because I love them. If the Desert Botanical Garden had a Chihuly blown glass installation I would absolutely take her there. That installation is one of my favorite things to see. I’ve gone several times and it doesn’t get old for me. We would go out to a few restaurants but balance with some meals we would make at the house because we both like to cook. We would go to Haus Murphy’s and at least one vegan place because she tends to eat vegetarian and vegan foods.

If we’re planning for a week-long visit, especially if it’s hot we might go out of state for a couple of days to visit Carlsbad, CA which is one of my favorite places. While in California we would go do super touristy things like go to Madame Tussauds and then spend the rest of the day hanging out on the beach, being quiet, listening to the sounds of the waves and people watching.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Humans are social creatures and we’re just not meant to do anything (entirely) alone. I know I am not the exception. Learning to ask for and accept help and contributions from others makes all the difference. Some of the people who have helped me most either through support, offering mentorship, or through loving and encouraging me are my husband, my sister Chanelle, Dr. Chante Pantila, Jordanna Saunders, Cathy Hanville, Christine MacInnis, Jesse Westfall, the lovely ladies at Holy Healing Bali, my SCORE mentors, Veronica Sabater and Randy Webb. Full Life Counseling also would not run as smoothly as it does without our awesome office manager, Andrea.

Website: www.flcinaz.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/FullLifeCounselingAZ

Facebook: www.facebook.com/FullLifeCounselingAZ

Image Credits
Dana Strickland, Phil Strickland, Misha Lott, Bonnie Dawson