About Dr. Dana McNeil
Doctor of Psychology
Certified Gottman Therapist
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Individual and Couple Relationship Therapist
San Diego, CA
I am a warm, non-judgmental and genuine therapist. My goal is for you to feel like you’re talking with a trusted confidant. I want you to feel comfortable, supported, and safe so we can work to make your relationship better. Regardless of what you tell me, it won’t surprise or scare me or cause me to judge you.
Dr. Dana McNeil
Founder of the Relationship Place - PsyD, LMFT
Certified Gottman Therapist
Licensed in California and Texas
My Counseling Style
My style of therapy is very much like my personality: down to earth, humble, funny sometimes with slight sarcasm, direct, and blunt in a loving way.
I do not place blame on either partner in the relationship. I don’t choose sides, but I will challenge you both to change your behaviors, so you can have the best relationship possible.
I am incredibly enthusiastic and tend to be an overachiever especially with clients who are motivated and open to change and grow.
I have a sense of humor about myself, and I encourage my clients to adopt the same attitude.
My goal is for you to feel that I’m completely invested in your success.
If you resonate with me and to find out more about working with me as your couples therapist, please contact me to book your appointment.
Becoming a Relationship Therapist
Two experiences compelled me to enter the therapy profession.
The first was my former job as a property insurance adjuster helping people after natural disasters. The second was the amazingly helpful pre-marital relationship work I did with my partner.
Witnessing My Clients’ Trauma as a Property Insurance Adjuster
My early career consisted of working for a large insurance company as a property damage claims adjuster.
Part of my job was to travel to affected areas of the country in the wake of catastrophes such as hurricanes, floods, and tornados to provide on the ground assistance to clients whose homes had experienced damage.
As you can imagine, these clients were traumatized by their experiences. They were often in shock and some experienced guilt about having survived when so many in their community hadn’t.
Many of them also didn’t have access to mental health care.
I soon realized that before I could settle their insurance claims, I would need to provide my clients with support and empathy so they could process their shock and be able to participate in meaningful conversations with me about their property claims.
I found a great sense of purpose in listening to and validating my client’s experiences as they shared how they had survived their trauma. I saw how helpful it was to them to debrief their feelings.
The Gottman Approach and the Relationship with My Partner
Before we were together, my partner and I had a long-distance relationship. Because of the challenges of being so far apart, we sought pre-marital counseling.
I knew that regardless of how much I loved my partner-to-be, we were going to face communication challenges, differing expectations, and conflict. I wanted to ensure our marriage got off to a strong start.
I researched the best evidence-based couples therapy methods and fell in love with the Gottman Method.
It’s an easy to understand and structured method that teaches effective and simple communication skills that build upon one another.
I was also pleased that I could enhance my relationships with everyone in my life by using these skills.
I couldn’t find a local Gottman Method therapist who was taking clients, so we bought Gottman’s The Seven Principles book and skyped with each other every Sunday as we worked through the couples exercises together.
We learned invaluable communication tools that helped us be better partners and we still use them in our relationship today.
I believe firmly in the Gottman relationship method and have found it to be highly valuable not only for myself but also for the clients I work with in my relationship and couples counseling practice.
Professional Therapist Credentials and Training
I’ve completed the highest level of training because I’m passionate about helping your relationship to be a success.
Core Relationship and Couples Counseling Training
Certified Gottman Method Couples Therapist
Gottman Bringing Home Baby Program Educator
In addition to the main Gottman training, I’ve done specific training in the Gottman Method in the following areas:
Couples and Addiction Recovery
Working with Complex Couples Affected by Addiction or Co-Occurring Mental Illness
Working with the Aftermath of an Extramarital Affair
International Association of Trauma Professionals (IATP) Certified Trauma Therapist
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
Training and Experience in Other Areas of Mental Health
In addition to my training in relationship and couples therapy, I have extensive training in a number of areas of mental health. These include:
Depression and Anxiety
Addiction and Recovery
Grief and Trauma Issues
Domestic Violence
LGBTQIA+
Sexual Addiction
Sexual Abuse
Hear From Our Clients
Hear from those who've experienced positive changes through our services.
“Dr. Dana made me feel so seen. I never felt shame for the trauma I’d caused. It was so healthy and helpful to find ways to navigate our conversations.”
“Thank you so much! It exceeded my expectations. You made me feel comfortable and supported.”
“I learned I need to take a 20 minute break when flooded, ask for clarity in facial expressions, use gentle startup and take ownership even if its small.”
“Gave me many tools and insights, I’m excited to implement them.”
“I couldn’t have had a better experience. Dana is so caring and smart and easily helped us navigate through our issues.”
“I learned that I need to ask for my needs and also take a break when I feel flooded.”
“I had an excellent experience, it helped me get clarity and learn valuable tools.”
“Dana was really effective at explaining the research, helping facilitate the conversation with figuring out how to address our biggest challenges.”
“Really pleased with the experience. Absolutely exceeded my expectations.”
“This helped lower the walls in our relationship.”
“Dana is superb, gracious, and kind. We’re very grateful.”
“I gained the clarity I was looking for!”
“Grateful to our extended therapist and her extended time! And of course, her dog!”
“The intensive process and longer sessions are incredibly helpful to push things further and get real work done.”
“The three-day package was necessary to enable the “emotional stretch” and that’s when we saw the best results.”
“This was a much needed intense session but helped promote healing and focus to decide where we go in life together.”
“This was well worth it and I’d definitely do it again!”
“This helped us sit and have uncomfortable conversations that were long overdue.”
“Exhausting but I loved everything about this!”
“This helped us have epiphanies and transformative thoughts.”
“Thank you so much for taking the time to really understand our issues and providing us with all the tools to use when future issues arise.”
“I feel like we have made huge progress on major issues with these three days.”
“Everything made me feel safe and comfortable here.”
“Therapist is great at listening and helping us with communication.”
“Absolutely, it was better than I expected and gave us great tools.”
“Empathetic and responsive.”
“Very accommodative and understanding.”
“I definitely feel Therapy Getaway helped with our relationship goals because it allowed a deeper dive in a structured fashion, with tools to continue improving our relationship.”
“Great session. They know their stuff and is really good at helping us find the language to effectively communicate.”
“They were incredibly instrumental in relating all the tools that my partner and I needed in areas where we struggle.”
“Therapy Getaway absolutely helped our relationship. They were amazing.”
“This was a very beneficial process. Dana made it easy for us to open up about every difficult issue we had been struggling with. We now have good tools.”
“It seemed at first that 2.5 days was long, but it feels so good to be in therapy that I wish it was 3-5 days!”
“Therapy Getaway immensely helped us talk about our problems in a safe place.”
“Dana is very experienced and sensitive to peoples situations and knows how to make you feel comfortable as if you were in your own home.”
“Learned a lot of coping tools. Dana was wonderful.”
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