More about Terri

Terri Delaney, MSW, LICSW, SEP

Hello! I am so happy you found your way here. I would love to talk with you to see if I might be a good fit for you and/or your family.  Check out my Now page for the most up-to-date information about me.

A little about me: I absolutely love this work! I am interested in living a wholehearted life and I seem to attract clients who are as well. I feel so privileged to get to consult with amazing people and their families.

I am a life-long learner and I attend more than one hundred hours each year in continuing education. I have certification in several therapy approaches so that I can stay on the leading edge of therapeutic advances.

I bring curiosity, interest, and appreciation of your knowledge and experiences to our sessions. I'm not a sit-back-and-just-nod kind of therapist. I'll jump right in with enthusiasm, knowing that we are going to uncover solutions together if I ask good questions.

I became a therapist in part because I personally have benefited from therapy. I've sought both individual therapy as well as couples therapy to improve and support my marriage. After 20+ years together, I'm happy to say that I'm still in love with my partner and we have an amazing daughter together.

I believe that therapy can help us to become better people and strengthen our relationships. I believe in this work and I look forward to meeting you!

Who comes to see me?

I have the privilege of getting to consult with an incredible group of people.  From entrepreneurs to artists and full-time parents, the folks who work with me are interested in building better lives and deeper relationships. 

I am an open and affirming counselor, and I consult with people of all religious beliefs, sexual orientations, physical abilities, gender identity and cultural backgrounds. I am committed to healing cultural and racialized trauma and I run a group a healing practitioners interested in healing racialized trauma. 

Some of the folks who see me come weekly and others drop in as needed (sometimes only once every few months, or even once or twice a year).  I am flexible on the format. I treat my clients like I do my colleagues and we figure out what will work best together.

Education and Training

I love learning and I have an open mind. I regularly attend trainings, workshops, and seminars - more than 100 hours each year. I invest in expanding my understanding and knowledge so that I can be the best therapist I can be. I also participate in case consultation groups, and I seek consultation from other therapists as needed.

I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). I am a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).  I completed my Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) in 2000 at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus (9 months of that was spent in Dehra Dun, India).  Six years after completing my MSW, I completed the Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Adler Graduate School.  Did I mention I love learning? 

Treating Complex PTSD and Dissociative Disorders

When I first trained to become a therapist, the focus was primarily on anxiety, depression, substance abuse. My initial schooling did not prepare me for the large number of folks coming into my office suffering from Complex PTSD (C-PTSD). It drove me to seek out additional training and specialization in trauma treatment; both for family-of-origin trauma as well as other traumatic events. I am fully trained in Pia Mellody's Healing Developmental Trauma model, EMDR Level II Certified, and I am a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP). I am also a person who is committed to growing my capacity for healing racialized trauma. Finally, I participate in a monthly consultation with Charme Davidson, expert on treating dissociative disorders and DID.

Pia Mellody's Healing Developmental Trauma Model

I am fully trained in Pia Mellody’s Healing Developmental Trauma Model and I use this model extensively, both personally and professionally. This model focuses on healing and growth in five core issues: self-esteem, boundaries, human reality, dependency/wants and needs, and moderation issues.  Through healing past  relationship trauma and social learning, individuals can "right the wrongs" of the past and move forward personally, professionally and relationally. I have particular success working with folks who are stuck in the "one-up" position who have decided they need to learn another way (usually due to relationship losses).  My mentors in this model have included Pia Mellody, Sarah Bridge, Alan Braverman, Cara Weed, and Michelle D'Arcy.

Somatic Experiencing ®

I am a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP). I completed over 215 hours of training to become an SEP. This is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. It is the life’s work of Dr. Peter A. Levine, resulting from his multidisciplinary study of stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics, together with over 45 years of successful clinical application. The SE approach releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma. This approach gives me a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight or freeze responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states. It provides effective skills appropriate to a variety of healing professions including mental health, medicine, physical and occupational therapies, bodywork, addiction treatment, first response, education, and others. 

Relational Life Therapy (RLT) 

I am a certified RLT Therapist.  Created by Terry Real, Relational Life Therapy (RLT) advances the concept of “relational living” in order to help people address relational and psychological health in their relationships. RLT is a very direct coaching model of couples counseling that aims to help partners resolve conflicts, develop personal accountability, improve communication, and foster intimacy within their relationship. This model is different from many models in that it directly addresses relational problems by “joining through the truth” where the therapist talks directly to each partner about their contributions to problems in the marriage. Couples typically see movement within the first few sessions.

Healing historical and racialized trauma

I am committed to growing my own capacity to heal racialized and historical trauma and to be a part of nurturing that healing in my family, local community, spiritual community and healing practitioner community. I am currently coordinating a monthly gathering of white-bodied healers to address and grow their capacity for healing racialized trauma. I also founded and lead a weekly personal group that has been meeting out of my home since July 2016. I particularly draw on the work of Resmaa Menakem's important work My Grandmother's Hands. 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills 

I have completed more than 30 hours of training to become a DBT skills trainer.  DBT is particularly effective with people who struggle with emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance. It teaches people skills in order to be more effective in relationships, able to better regulate their emotions, to deal with distressing feelings and sensations, and to cultivate mindfulness and awareness. I use these skills on a regular basis with clients. 

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) 

I am a certified Level II EMDR practitioner through the EMDR Institute. EMDR is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. Repeated studies show that by using EMDR people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal.  EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma.  When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound.  If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain.  Once the block is removed, healing resumes.  EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. 

Narrative Therapy 

I also utilize Narrative Therapy ideas and approaches as the ethical foundation for my work. Narrative Therapy is a respectful and collaborative set of therapy practices which recognize that people use stories to make meaning of their lives and to construct their identities. I have an advanced certificate in Narrative Therapy and I studied for seven years with John Stillman, LICSW. I also had the privilege of training in-person with Michael White. His work continues to be an inspiration to me!