Today, we would like to introduce you to Dr. Danielle Delaney.
Dr. Danielle Delaney is a doctor of Theology and is a Crisis Intervention Counselor, Drug and Alcohol Interventionist & an Addiction Aftercare Specialist. She holds her private counseling practice in the Hollywood Hills, works with patients and doctors from multiple top tier rehab facilities throughout Malibu and internationally, and has owned an elite boutique Sober Companioning company for nearly a decade under the umbrella of Danielle Delaney Counseling, Inc. She holds the distinction of being the youngest and the ONLY woman of color to own a sober companioning business in the United States. Over several years, she has quickly become “Malibu’s Most Wanted” for interventions and trauma counseling. She also hosts a #1 radio show on the world leader in internet media, Voiceamerica, called “The Real Deal With Dr. Danielle Delaney” and is the award-winning author of “Expect Delays: How to Reclaim Your Life, Light and Soul After Trauma.” Danielle was the recipient of the 2017 Trauma and Crisis Education Award and was named an asset to the city and the county of Los Angeles. She has written for and been profiled by InRecovery Magazine for their Strong Women In Recovery Issue, Keys to Recovery Newspaper, and made several appearances on Radio MD, Rewired Radio and on superstar attorney Laura Wasser’s podcast on divorce, regarding trauma and healing. Dr. Delaney is a gifted public speaker who is often called upon for her expertise in rape crisis, trauma, and addiction issues on television and radio. We wanted to know how it all began for her, so let us begin our interview and tell you more.
Has it been a smooth road?
HA! I’m glad you asked. Actually, NO, it has been far from a smooth road, and I often say when I do public speaking engagements that I am truly living proof that you can survive anything. I’m very open about what happened to me and what led me to my work, and the depth of my personal experience of sexual assault and healing from trauma is what my book is about.
In the year 2005, I was taken from an entertainment event in a limousine by a group of several men and assaulted repeatedly and thrown from the moving car. There was a lot more to it, but that is the short version of what happened. On top of the physical and emotional trauma from rape, I had to deal with a brain injury, extensive back injuries and knee injuries and was beaten and stomped on and was unrecognizable. There were actual imprints from a shoe on my body. My face was black and blue. My head was misshapen. I was hospitalized, and while the rape kit was being done and I was getting stitches in my eyelids and lip, these attackers had my belongings and added insult to injury by committing fraud on all of my accounts. I was left with nothing, and they were never caught. I had to heal for years and suffered from PTSD, and had to rebuild my life financially, spiritually, emotionally, and physically as well as release myself from chemical dependencies to cope with trauma and depression in order to heal. I had to put myself through more and more schooling to become well-versed and successful in my chosen fields of rape crisis and addiction recovery counseling. I chose those fields because other than one outstanding doctor, I felt it wasn’t being done well and that the field left much to be desired.
I started off with some public speaking about healing from rape trauma, which led to my being approached by an academy that trains people in counseling survivors of sex crimes… adults molested as children and rape victims. As I did that schooling and internship, I’d assist forensic nurses at hospitals performing rape kits. I’d hold the victim’s hand and ask questions along with the police and answered the rape and suicide hotlines, I quickly realized that practically everyone trying to cope was self-medicating, with very few exceptions. That led me to continue my education to attain national certifications to work with drug and alcohol addiction and crisis intervention. I felt that working with trauma, chemical dependency and intervening with families in crisis was where I belonged. I certainly knew the territory and I felt a deep satisfaction being there for people in the worst possible moments of their lives. I felt a purpose, and that was what drove me to continue to study interfaith theology and divinity in order to guide people in dark times to their higher selves and to healing. I can never say it was a smooth road, to answer your question, but I can definitely say it has been worth my energy and time to heal and to be healed. I’m a work in progress, just like everyone else.
Along the way, I have definitely dealt with racism, sexism, and those with bad intentions. I had a history of being a model and actress in L.A. from seventeen years old onward, and by the time I began my counseling career I had already learned the lesson that people are not always who they say they are and that your real friends are few, and to value them. Quality, not quantity. Fortunately, I have a strong family foundation here, being born and raised in Los Angeles and I’ve found that my friends from my childhood in Encino and Beverly Hills have remained the most real and true. When I needed emotional support, my family and friends from third grade and from my cul-de-sac have been invaluable. We native Angelenos are a special breed!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Danielle Delaney Counseling, Inc. – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I’ll start with what I am most proud of as a company. I love the testimonials from patients and clients who say that our work together has affected their lives positively, forever. Many of those are in my book and several of the testimonials are at DanielleDelaneyCounseling.com on my website. Personally and in my practice, I take pride in being extremely present and available for my private clients who are everyone from students to rodeo cowboys to actors and heiresses you would know by one single name, to women and men residing in shelters. As a corporation and sending out my sober companions and nurses, I take pride in my company being comprised of some of the finest individuals I have ever known. Their contracts are thick and their experience is extensive; all of them have worked in recovery for years, and are background checked, finger-printed and they are hand-picked by me. Every client and every companion is vetted extremely carefully, and I speak with or meet every client myself in order to create the perfect fit. There have been clients who told me that they had relapsed time and again for years, but when my lead nurse stayed with them for five months, they’ve now stayed sober for several years because of her help in overseeing their care and medication and health situations. I’ve had clients whose children used to find them unconscious and text me, and we hopped on jets and got to them and made sure the children were safe and that the parent got exceptional treatment as well as aftercare counseling with me. One is often in touch and has been sober for years now. Her life and her children’s lives are better because of it. When they tell me that, my heart swells several sizes and I am humbled. They affect my life in enormous ways. I learn something from every single client. Being teachable makes me happy. Watching people’s lives improve makes me fulfilled and proud as a company and as a clinician.
I specialize in addiction recovery aftercare for high-profile individuals, meaning I work with clients after they leave inpatient facilities, and also specialize in Intervention facilitation, which means that I myself have often put them there – so it’s really wraparound, concierge care tailored to each person. My company provides exceptional companions to stay with them when needed. What we do works. It really takes an iron fist in a velvet glove approach to get people to do what will ultimately heal them. Rape trauma, all forms of complex trauma, and life stage transitions such as divorce are other specialty areas. Cheerful stuff, I know.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time, if any?
I’ll admit, I don’t have a whole lot of free time, and most of my lunches or dinners truly are business or business-related in one way or another. Life is very full, between a busy career and projects I’m working on, but I do try to carve out time to do things I enjoy. I like to take classes to get better at something or to learn something new. I took boxing because I know that having self-defense classes in my history definitely helped me to save my own life. I fought for my life and fortunately won, so anything to get physically stronger and to stay healthy is something I like to do. Also, learning guitar and brushing up on my old piano skills with a keyboard I keep at home, and I took a class in candle making, and I’m launching a luxury candle line in 2020. It’s a hypnotic and soothing activity, and people really love the unique scents that I create. I love doing it. Otherwise, I continue to write and contribute to various magazines and psych journals, and I’m working on my second book. Time is non-refundable, and I don’t like to waste it. I also make sure to make time to spend with my parents, who are now in their eighties and I’m so fortunate to have them.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
What I love best about our fair city is its startling beauty. The sunsets, the palm trees, the city lights, the landmark buildings, the ocean, the mountains. Places in the hills that are a quiet oasis with swans to stare at for hours can be left behind for the beach in a blink. Then there’s the bustling city at night, and all of the fantastic tastes and sights and sounds and culture & art, such as theater and film and galleries, all within minutes from each other. Rooftop movies, a sunny brunch or a drizzly day always have the backdrop of the Hollywood sign. Plus the fantastic melting pot of people and languages and color and cultures and nationalities from all over the globe. It’s intoxicating. There is nothing like it, and I adore it here and always have… I tried moving to Australia and to England, but every time, I boomerang right back here to Los Angeles. It just haunts me with its beauty and all that it has to offer. Plus, my beloved family and other loved ones are here. What else is there?
What do I like the least… well, sadly, that’s an easy one. The traffic. I sometimes think I might need a helicopter to get to a meeting in Malibu, and I’m right. I don’t have one, so I’m just grateful for music and podcasts to keep me sane on the freeway.
Contact Info:
- Website: DanielleDelaneyCounseling.com
- Phone: see website for contact info
- Email: DelaneyCounseling@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Jon Abeyta
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