Dr. Danna Bodenheimer
I am a queer, sober, neurodivergent, Jewish therapist, speaker and writer living in Philadelphia. I have been practicing psychotherapy and teaching about it for nearly 20 years. I love therapy and have long worshipped at the altar of it, but I have also become increasingly troubled by its misuse. Let’s call it a love/hate relationship; I am a truly ambivalent therapist. But, I am a clear thinker and feeler. There’s a lot that I know and more that I don’t. With that, I am hoping to shape dialogue in a way that repairs our relationships with both our own mental health and the provision of mental health services.
Gabriel Snell
While I may be more behind the scenes than Danna, I have my hand in just about everything you see from Dr. Danna B. Mental health and social justice are at the center of both my professional and personal life, so this work is very meaningful to me. I’ve learned so much and gotten so much support from Danna over the years, so I love helping to amplify her voice so that others can feel the unique and powerful impact of her work.
our
story
A job ad on Craigslist led to our first phone call, and the symbiosis was instant.
Danna was a therapist who wanted to multiply her support for the LGBTQ community by starting a group practice. Gabe’s background in small business management and queer studies meant he had the tools to make it a reality. That first phone call launched a close partnership and friendship, and for the last 7 years, our collaboration at Walnut Psychotherapy Center has developed the careers of dozens of queer and trans therapists, and provided affirming therapy to thousands of queer and trans clients.
Now, we are expanding our work beyond the direct practice of psychotherapy. For years, we have seen the harmful impact of homophobia and transphobia on client’s lives, and we know that the real healing starts by addressing these issues at the source. Our goal is to move the public discourse on gender, sexuality, and mental health toward understanding, acceptance, and liberation.
We both come to this work with professional and personal expertise, enhanced by our respective educations. In some ways, we couldn’t be more different. We approach every problem from opposite angles, but our values are tightly aligned. We are comfortable tolerating what we don't know, and having conversations that don't have definitive end goals or solutions. We do substantial amount of our thinking and learning together, constantly holding each other accountable to the deep work at hand. We grew up on opposite sides of the country, and now live on opposite sides of Philadelphia. We each have five cats.