Community Highlights: Meet Dr. Danielle Delaney of Danielle Delaney Counseling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Danielle Delaney.

Hi Dr. Delaney, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I wish I could say that my businesses were born from something “warm and fuzzy” but the truth is very much the opposite. I went through extreme trauma, violence, and crisis myself and survived it, and that’s really where this story begins.

Back in 2005 and 2007, I was the victim of random violent crimes. Drugged, kidnapped, raped, beaten to the point of being unrecognizable, stomped on, and thrown from a moving car – this horror is where it began. My life as I knew it was forever altered, and I wrote about what exactly occurred and recovering from it in my book that was published in 2017 “Expect Delays: How To Reclaim Your Life, Light, and Soul After Trauma”. More info can be found at ExpectDelaysBook.com. My book details how I healed. I am living proof that it can be accomplished, and I wanted to help in the healing of others.

Coming from a very comfortable upbringing, being the daughter of a beautiful talented sculptor and a celebrated doctor & musician really wasn’t going to save me now – I had wanted for nothing growing up and had led a fairly charmed life in most ways, up until that point. Violence is the great equalizer – I had to work extremely hard to heal excessive pains both physical and emotional, and to work through diagnosed severe PTSD – and my psych undergrad from UCLA became both useful and necessary.

In the aftermath, I was exposed to just how futile the system is for victims of crime, including how hard it is to find Counseling for that particular circumstance. Imagine that you’ve just been through rape, one of the worst things imaginable, and specialized help is hard to find. I really wanted to change that, and so I have…I went back to school to learn to assist and counsel Special Victims (rape victims, adults molested as children, violent crime survivors, trafficking survivors), and came to the realization that addiction is a very close cousin of trauma – nearly everyone on the other end of the rape and suicide hotlines, which I worked at all hours, was self-medicating. When I did an internship working with forensic nurses and police, holding the hands of rape victims as we interviewed them at hospitals immediately following their trauma, it became even more evident. Survivors were using substances to cope and often could not find their way back to themselves. Believe me, I knew that territory personally, and far too well. So, I did more training to specialize in trauma and addiction recovery. This led to my private Counseling practice after working with shelters and SART (Sexual Assault Response Team with the police department) for years and seeing the very worst of it, and hearing from people that could not find support. I became more and more passionate about this work, as well as about the existential question “Why me?” – which I, along with every man and woman victimized, have asked. That led me to study and earn doctorates in both Theology and Divinity, as so many feel spiritually bankrupt as our lives have been irreversibly altered by events beyond our control. I became a Spiritual Counselor and Crisis Interventionist. This meant that I also volunteered with seminaries, clinics, and shelters, trained to perform addiction interventions as well, and have performed them for over a decade, globally. I’m the youngest person, and the ONLY Black woman or woman of color to own a Sober Companioning business in the United States of America, and I have to be proud of that fact.

I now own my counseling practice as well as my Sober Companioning business and have a large staff of incredible companions, nurses, therapists, counselors, and coaches that I have sent to my clientele worldwide since 2012. My company collaborates with over 60 rehabs in Malibu as well as around the globe. I also own Plan D®️ Wellness and Recovery, which provides care and support using various modalities for those who, for a variety of reasons, need to do their recovery and healing privately. More information about these services can be found at DanielleDelaneyCounseling.com. Lastly, I also work in film and television on set, providing performers with the skill set to portray trauma on various series or shows (such as Dexter) and I’m training in the field of Intimacy Coordinator which became very important in light of the #MeToo movement to which I am connected. I also work in the area of teaching DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) on set, and also in the workplace for corporations, and I do public speaking and appearances for organizations. These organizations are as varied as the Beverly Hills West Chapter of The Links Inc., who recently gave me the loveliest award for speaking, The American Heart Association, Immaculate Heart High School (Meghan Markle’s alma matter, where I spoke to the graduating class of young women about defining your own identity, The Minority Health Institute of which I am also a Board member, and the L.A. LGBTQ Center where I had a speaking engagement for trans youth recently. I host an international podcast called “The Real Deal with Dr. Danielle Delaney” and have interviewed everyone from movie stars, influencers, and doctors about trauma, life stages, and healing. I do this work under my other company, Delangerous Productions (DelangerousProductions.com). I still enjoy commercial work or print work/appearing in ads (I recently appeared as a National Spokesperson in a Soberlink commercial, alongside the famed superstar divorce attorney Laura Wasser) and enjoy doing voiceover work, too. I worked in entertainment for 20 years before my life was so rudely and brutally interrupted by violent crime. I’m currently represented by Sumer Park of The Park Agency.

I do a lot of things with my work, and never, ever feel bored with any of it, as it’s a constant influx of new people and new situations. I’m truly engaged in and in love with my work! It may sound like depressing fields of work to some, but consider this…it’s either teaching inclusion, or teaching coping skills and healing suffering and making a forever impact that actually matters for someone at the worst time in their lives.

What could possibly be more rewarding than that?

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
You ask, what were the obstacles? Along the way, I have encountered and endured plenty of racism, sexism, and all manner of disrespect and unsavory people in business and even in the healthcare space – and to get through it, I really just consider the source, and fly above it. It defies reason why some people behave as they do… or are envious or gossipy. Many beings are just unhappy. While creating businesses, I have never had the luxury of idle time to pay much attention to it, because I am so busy creating and living a life that I love. I’m living rent-free in their heads, while I never even think of them at all. I succeed in spite of that sort of thing because those in the know, KNOW – and my work and an impeccable reputation in business speak for themselves. I’m pretty hard to distract with nonsense. You have to run your own race.

Hiring, contracts, insurance, accounting, liability releases, networking, scheduling, and much that comes with owning and running one’s own multiple successful businesses was brand new to me only a decade ago, not to mention hosting a podcast and writing a book! All of that was foreign territory. The best advice I can now give to anyone struggling with that is: to ask questions, and to listen and learn from those who are doing what you want to do. Don’t skimp on paying those who are doing the work that you need to master – it is an investment in yourself that you will never, ever regret. Read everything you can get your hands on about business, and the work you want to do. I’m huge on asking “show me how” about just about everything and am like a sponge wanting to absorb and learn everything that I can.

To answer your question: No, it has been a far cry from a smooth road. Struggles and obstacles are part of the journey, and they sure make you appreciate it when you accomplish what you have set out to do. They will always come, and you have to stay calm and navigate them. Like my first book title says, “Expect Delays”!  What didn’t kill me only made me incredibly determined to never, ever let anyone or anything hold me back. My second & upcoming book is titled “Don’t Call Me Crying From Your Bentley: Tales of a Tinseltown Interventionist” (more information at DontCallMeCrying.com) which will give some insight into my personal philosophy, which is that an iron fist in a velvet glove is what gets things done, with a dash of tough love when needed along with kindness, compassion, a sense of humor, and understanding. The struggle is part of the human experience and condition – it’s what we do with it that ultimately determines who we become.

We’ve been impressed with Danielle Delaney Counseling, Inc., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
In a nutshell, I am truly proud to be able to offer absolute wraparound care to traumatized individuals and those suffering from various addictions – from the formal Intervention that I so often perform myself, to creating their private Aftercare counseling and an innovative plan customized to their personal & differing needs, once they discharge from inpatient facilities or have completed my 3 month Plan D Wellness & Recovery Program. Discretion is king, and the level of training and dedication that my staff possesses set my brand apart.

Being born and raised in L.A. and having had a past career in entertainment is an advantage when working with celebrities and highly resourced individuals. I know and understand the pitfalls of that life, and the unique challenge it presents which includes the reality that they are never able to be truly “anonymous” and their care needs to be privatized. I know how to accomplish that with my own high-touch, bespoke system and method. My program really supports people and jumpstarts a healthier life, and there are testimonials to that effect on DanielleDelaneyCounseling.com and in the book reviews for “Expect Delays”. Grateful clients and referrals are the highest compliments.

What are your plans for the future?
I’m looking forward to releasing my next book – there’s more information about that at DontCallMeCrying.com – as well as looking forward to adding some Mediation services for individuals going through the oh-so-common life stage transition of divorce. I collaborate with some esteemed attorneys and fellow colleagues and therapists in that area, and it’s illuminating helping people on their path to a new way of living and a fresh start. I appear in celebrity divorce attorney Laura Wasser’s “Next Chapter: Life After Divorce” Masterclass and write for her “Its Over Easy Insights” blog. I also appear on her “Divorce Sucks!” podcast. Her 20+ years of practicing law and divorce proceedings really inspired me to get involved in the world of Mediation. There is a lot of trauma involved in a divorce, and having a Counselor on deck along with mediation skills is an ace in the hole. It’s more than a decisive and crucial resource. So I will be expanding my practice in that direction as well – under the umbrella of DDC INC. with the rest of my services.

Other than that, I look very forward to some international traveling after all of these pandemic lockdowns in the past 3 years, and also to spending some more time with my parents. I’m very fortunate to still have both of them. They are forces of nature, and just being around either of them inspires me to do and to be my best.

Contact Info:

• Website: DanielleDelaneyCounseling.com & DelangerousProductions.com
• Instagram: @danidelaney
• Facebook: DanielleDelaneyCounselingInc
• Twitter: itsdanidelaney
• LinkedIn: Dr.Danielle (Williams) Delaney, Th.D
• Psychology Today: Danielle Delaney Counseling Inc.
• Amazon store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/danidelaney
• Other: ExpectDelaysBook.com and DontCallMeCrying.com (Podcast: The Real Deal With Danielle Delaney on all podcast platforms. Image credits: Jon Abeyta Photography & Joanna DeGeneres Photography)

Image Credits
Jon Abeyta Photography, Joanna DeGeneres Photography, and Delangerous Productions