Danna Carter

As a light brown-skinned female who immigrated from Brazil, Danna arrived in the United States with many 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 knowledges informed 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 LatinX 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 and life constraints. 

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. Without reservations, she made the 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. She hopes that the considerations and efforts to reverse traditional hierarchical roles in academia can offer new possibilities in a sacred space of learning where the importance of examining our own values/ethics facilitate conversations for rich and equity-based learning.