I help people who are struggling to break free from their past trauma to better hear their own voice and become the authentic person they want to be.
Welcome!
I’m Donna Hunter, M.A., CMHC, and I’ve worked as a mental health therapist for over twenty years. I’m still moved by clients looking to transcend symptoms that are barriers for you or loved ones. Like all reasonable people, you’ve done what you can to live with symptoms.
Now, you’re looking for help moving forward.
Let me make the decision to work with me a little bit easier for you. I know there are many clinicians to choose from these days (…and you’ll find the stuff that makes me credible below).
In the last twenty years, I’ve worked hard to be constantly learning, and refining my therapy skills. I’m not the same therapist doing the same thing I was six or ten years ago.
I see it as my responsibility to guide you through best therapy practices and guidelines to help you reach your goals while being respectful of your time and money. Since I often work with adults with a history of trauma, neglect and abuse, I work in a paced, safe way from co-created plans aimed at allowing you to get your legs back under you. I will offer coaching to overcome stuck points on your road to discover who you really are. I will listen and guide you in an effective direction. My first priority is to make your experience paced, safe and challenging; the process should not be overwhelming or too comfortable…we need a fine balance for growth. We’ll reinforce your ‘wins’ so you’ll know what specifically works for you. We’ll also untangle more tender areas with ease and compassion. As we work together, I hope you’ll start to notice an experience that you can be more present in life and as a result, do more of what you want. I want to help you structure a life that you will be proud of. You should leave sessions feeling heard, as well as knowing a next step and feeling more capable to take it. Are you ready for this kind of experience? If so, I’m excited to hear from you!
Expertise
The stuff that makes me credible.
I’m a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor with two Master’s degrees, one in Counseling and a second in Leadership. My training supports you in healing from trauma, neglect, and dissociative-related symptoms. I’m an EMDR Approved Consultant, Level 2 AEDP Therapist, Becoming Safely Embodied certified, and Polyvagal-Informed Therapist with advanced training in clinical hypnosis and treating dissociative disorders.
Although from the East Coast, I’ve practiced in Utah for the past 25 years, so understanding how culture, institutions, and community support or undermine your health is central to crafting customized treatment plan for you.
In addition to private practice. I enjoy working in a university college counseling center with students ranging in age from late teens to those in their more mature years. I’ve taught adjunct at the university level for over a decade. Interning at a college counseling center introduced me to the prevalence of sexual assault, child abuse and neglect and volunteering as a rape recovery advocate and trainer opened my eyes to applying scientifically tested interventions to treatment.
Growing up next to an Air Force base as part of a military family sparked my interest in adult trauma since, as a child, I saw how it undermined one’s ability to feel safe in the body. Our neighborhood was under a flight path, and for neighbors who were war survivors, the triggering was a source of chronic distress. Looking back, I can see events such as the cross-burning when we moved into a predominantly white neighborhood could have been traumatizing but I benefited from parental protection. Not all clients have that level of adult protection in the family (or community) and if social identity trauma (gender, race, or social-economic status) is a part of your history, let’s discuss therapies to reduce the suffering.
