Mission Valley, Telehealth
Danielle Pawling-Haddad
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Availability
Wednesdays through Saturdays Evenings & Weekends
License: AMFT
License No: 150311
Rate
$165 per 50-minute session
Areas of interest
- Intimacy
- Affairs/infidelity
- Relational challenges
- Premarital
- Grief and loss
- Women’s issues
- Life transitions
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Trauma
Therapist Trainings
- Core Skills Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT)
- The Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Externship
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Play Therapy & Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Chronological Assessment of Suicidal Events
Education
- Alliant International University – Master of Arts: Marriage Family Therapy
- San Francisco State University – Bachelor of Arts: Liberal Studies
Meet with Danielle
Get to know Therapist Danielle Pawling
When did you decide to go into Clinical Mental Health Counseling?
Truthfully, the desire to become a therapist started long before I decided to go to graduate school. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I realized how limited our time could be and asked myself the question, “Why not now and why not me?” From there I pursued my career as a marriage family therapist and it is one of the best decisions I ever made.
Do you have advice for someone who is considering counseling?
If you are contemplating if now is the time or unsure, I say do it. Therapy is one of the most beautiful gifts you can give yourself.
What would you say to someone who is nervous about setting up their first counseling session with you?
I so get it AND get curious about those nerves. Maybe they are telling you that this is important.
Is there a special area you focus on within the therapy field?
I’m very passionate about working with couples. Relationships are dynamic, complex, challenge us, and also are our greatest teachers. I also really enjoy working with women at any age going through life transitions. We become so many different iterations of ourselves in a lifetime and I feel privileged to be sitting with those that let me.
How do you pass your time when you are not working with clients?
Going to live concerts, traveling, reading, pilates, playing pickleball with friends, and running around dog beach with my puppy.
If you were not a therapist, what would you be doing?
I’d be a writer! I’ve been so inspired by many authors and feel like I’ve lived a full life just by simply reading. I’d love to one day contribute to that feeling for others in some way.
Biography
Hi there! I am so grateful you are here. My name is Danielle, and I am an Associate Marriage Family Therapist. I know it takes a great deal of courage and vulnerability to embark on the incredibly personal process that is beginning therapy and finding the right therapist who just gets you.
There can be so many tiny shifts that lead us to the life we desire, and I believe much of that begins with the relationship we build together as client and therapist. We have innate needs to be witnessed, seen, and heard when we are baring parts of ourselves that are vulnerable and that we don’t show as often. With every individual or couple I see, I make it my mission to create a space that feels safe for you to show up as any version you are. Any and every part of you is welcomed and will be met with care, compassion, and presence.
At Alliant International University, I received my Master of Arts in Marriage Family Therapy and gained extensive training on relational therapy and seeing individuals, couples, and families in the context of their relationships. When we hear “relationship”, we naturally think in romantic terms, but the word extends far beyond to our friends, family, chosen family, and more. It is my belief, in the wise words of therapist Esther Perel, “The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives.” This includes the relationship we have with ourselves. Regardless of the type of relationships you currently find yourself in, the ones we’ve experienced in our lives, shift how we see and define ourselves and the world around us.
In my work with individuals and couples, I take an attachment-focused and experiential approach. We bond for emotional reasons and come up against challenges within our lives for emotional reasons, and because of this, I find Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) powerful in my work with couples to move towards repair and connection. For clients navigating anxiety, trauma, or difficulty managing intense emotions, I also draw on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Trauma-Focused CBT, both techniques provide practical, skills-based tools that work alongside the deeper relational work to help you feel more grounded day to day. Additionally, in my practice, I come from an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens as I have seen it be incredibly transformative, especially in relation to pain, grief, and trauma.
When I am not working with clients, you can find me attending live music, taking my dog Bowie to the beach, playing pickleball, reading a good book, or planning out my next travel adventure.
Supervised by Jennine Powell, MFT #47653.
