Dana L. McDowell, MA, LPC, CEDS
I don’t just sit with people in their pain. I sit with them in their potential.
THE LONG VERSION
I’ve been a therapist since 2006. I’ve sat with people in many different kinds of pain — and I’ve paid close attention to what actually helps people change.
What helps, in my experience, is rarely more information or more insight.
It’s going deeper — but in a way that’s grounded, relational, and actually integrates into your life.
I’m less interested in whether something sounds insightful, and more interested in whether it actually changes how you live, relate, and feel in your body.
My training reflects this. I hold a Masters in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University — one of the few programs in the world where Buddhist psychology, somatic awareness, and Western clinical training are genuinely integrated, not merely adjacent. That foundation shapes everything about how I work.
I also bring lived experience. I’m familiar with the terrain of this work — and I meet you in it, rather than positioning myself above or ahead of you.
WHAT I BRING TO THE ROOM
Clinical rigor without rigidity. I draw from multiple modalities — Hakomi, IFS, ACT, CBT, somatic and trauma-informed approaches, ketamine-assisted therapy, psychedelic integration — and I use what fits the person in front of me, not a predetermined protocol.
A strong attunement to the body and present-moment experience. My Naropa education means I hold silence well, I work in the body as well as the mind, and I bring a quality of presence to sessions that clients often describe as distinctive.
Honest, grounded engagement. I’m not going to tell you what you want to hear. I’m also not going to be cold about it. My aim is a kind of clear-eyed warmth — the kind that actually helps people move and transform.
Experience with both conventional and non-ordinary states of consciousness. I don’t approach psychedelic-assisted work or integration intellectually. I’ve done my own depth work in this territory, and I bring both clinical training and personal experience to it.
Naropa University
MA Contemplative Psychotherapy
Miami University
BA Journalism & Speech Communication
Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) — iaedp (International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals)
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Provider — Journey Clinical & Fluence
Internal Family Systems Counselling Association (IFSCA) - IFS Training
Institute for the Psychology of Eating – Mind Body Eating Coaching Certification
Former Founder & President, Denver Metro International Association of Eating Disoder Professionals Chapter (iaedp)
Denver Institute of Integrative Yoga — Yoga Teacher Training
HEALers Circle Member
A note on eating disorders
Eating disorders remain part of my practice — I bring nearly two decades of specialized training and personal experience to this work, and I continue to see clients navigating their relationship with food, body, and self. But that specialty lives within a larger context: whole-person healing. If your relationship with food or your body is part of what’s brought you here, you’re welcome. So is everything else you’re carrying.
– ACCOLADES + AFFILIATIONS –
What clients say:
“She guides my consciousness in a way that allows me to be curious about myself rather than judgmental. I have never worked with someone so able to hold the space for me to become authentic.”
J.J., age 37
“I look at the world with new eyes and my experiences feel so much richer. Dana helped me break old patterns and create a genuinely new relationship with myself and the world.”
F.L., age 30
“Dana has helped me see that I can overcome many obstacles and has given me tools I will use throughout my life.”
A.P., age 25