Danna Carter, Ph.D., LMFT

Assistant Resident Professor and Senior Researcher
Department of Counseling and Family Sciences
Loma Linda University

AFTA – Chair of Publications Committee
AAMFT Clinical Fellow and Approved Supervisor

1790 Park Avenue, Suite 200
Redlands, CA 92373

Cell: (619) 944-2607
Email: dcarter@llu.edu, dannacarter@icloud.com 

As a light brown-skinned female who immigrated from South America in 2008, Danna arrived in the United States with many dreams and hopes for the future. As a young clinician, she was drawn even further towards her commitments to the community when she developed a particular interest in examining what kind of knowledge was informing psychological practices. As these ideas solidified, she embraced aspects of therapy that invited people to broaden the ways they think about themselves and others.

Once she obtained an MFT licensure in California, she worked closely with the Latin community at a local children’s hospital in San Diego where she was privileged to witness the perseverance of families seeking her help in the face of adversity. Her clinical work focused on helping children and adolescents who experienced self-harm and suicidal behaviors. Working on the behavioral health frontlines with economically disadvantaged families sparked her interest in pursuing her doctoral studies. As a result, her commitment to diversity and social equity extended to supporting young therapists in a mentorship role. As an AAMFT-approved supervisor, she dedicated her time to help students and interns focusing on culturally sensitive practices as well as providing supervision in English and Spanish. In her teaching, she attempts to recapture the essence of relational ethics between learner and mentor. These ethics are situated in the following question: How do I want others to experience themselves in my presence? This question allows considerations and efforts to reverse traditional hierarchical roles and consider a multiplicity of knowledge as part of being in a teaching relationship

Later in her studies, she continued to develop particular interest in mentoring students and followed ethics that are centered on honoring students’ knowledge and experiences in a space of collaborative learning. In this particular way to position oneself as part of the world, she reminded herself and others of the importance of examining our own values while facilitating important conversations to offer opportunities for rich and equity-based learning.

Considering the current global health and political crisis, Danna focused on developing creative ways to engage students in online courses and continue to carry these relational ethics forward. Albert Einstein once said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Inspired by this quotation, she has imagined and pursued creative ways to enrich learning experiences in the online environment. In fact, she is furthering her commitment to scholarship in pedagogy with another manuscript currently in press, specifically on narrative supervision as counterstory development for The Journal of Narrative Therapy. Lastly, volunteering is one of her passions and she has been providing pet-assisted therapy in California with her dog Dominic for more than 8 years with Love on a Leash.