Dr. Herman-Dunn’s Therapeutic Orientation
Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) is an orientation and skillset that encompasses a broad umbrella of therapies and is the gold standard of treatment for many common concerns including depression, anxiety, insomnia and struggles with unhealthy habits. Effective therapy begins with a process of assessment to thoroughly understanding your unique experiences, how you cope and respond to these experiences, and the consequences that ensue. Perhaps you know exactly where you would like to “go” in therapy, or perhaps not. Either way, together we will develop goals for our work together and these goals will refine and deepen as therapy unfolds and new possibilities emerge.
Many clients over the years have said that the compassion, warmth and insight I infuse into this discovery process makes it deeply supportive and validating. This is truly the beginning of our work however; I will then formulate a plan with you based on existing best practices to embark upon improvement of your well-being and encourage fuller, more joyful participation in your relationships, work, and play. Formal and informal means to assess your progress and satisfaction will be a regular part of our work together.
About Dr. Herman-Dunn
I am a licensed psychologist currently affiliated with the University of Washington (since 1994) as an Associate Clinical Professor and I have my own private practice in the heart of West Seattle since 1996. Though a Northwest native, my undergraduate and graduate education took me to California (UC Santa Barbara, BA Psychology), Ohio (Ohio State University, MA Psychology) and Florida (U Florida, Ph.D. Counseling Psychology with a minor in Health and Sport Psychology). Internship brought me to Seattle and the good fortune to work with internationally renowned psychologists on major National Institute of Mental Health studies: two for women with suicidal behaviors and drug addiction (Marsha Linehan, Ph.D.) and one for treating depression (Neil Jacobson, Ph.D). The latter study cemented Behavioral Activation as a go-to treatment and ultimately resulted in my co-authoring “Behavioral Activation: A clinician’s guide”, now in it's second edition (Martell, Dimidjian & Herman-Dunn, 2021). Our text is commonly used to train clinicians world-wide (translation into 7 languages). In addition to my practice, I provide supervision to University of Washington Clinical Psychology students, and consultation to mental health professionals seeking skills-enhancement and support for their work. I have conducted seminars and trainings in Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Behavioral Activation in the US and Canada and have been a consultant on research studies at Oxford University, Northwestern, and University of Colorado. My professional affiliations include the American Psychological Association (APA), Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), the National Register for Healthcare Providers in Psychology, and the Washington State Psychological Association (WSPA).