DR. DAMITA LARUE, PsyD, FT, CCISM

CEO, Psychologist, International Speaker

She / Her

Therapy should be an open, non-judgmental space to process what you’re going through.

Facing new challenges with a previous medical diagnosis. Recently received a new medical diagnosis and feel lost in the medical system with overwhelm, stress, and anxiety. Sleep feel impossible. Waking up in pain.

Grieving the death of someone in your life. Feeling the weight of loss because someone you care about has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Trying to take care of someone who has a chronic or terminal illness. Transitioning to a new chapter in life and feeling sad even though you “should be happy.”

I am dedicated to supporting individuals who are experiencing distress related to chronic, acute, and terminal medical diagnoses, caregiving, end-of-life and hospice, and grief & loss. These highly sensitive topics are some of the most challenging experiences we encounter in life. I believe you deserve someone with expertise to process the emotions you are feeling and find hope in your next season of life.

Life changes affect every area of your health and wellness, and I am committed to supporting you. Together, we work on many things, including your mental and emotional health, sleep, medical care, and physical wellbeing. We explore ways to set boundaries that feel right to you that can protect your emotional and physical health. We discuss relationship dynamics so you can feel confident in having healthy conversations with others. We investigate ways to obtain support or expand your support network. As humans, we also cannot ignore the feelings of grief and loss we experience with these changes in our lives.

As someone who has been, and continues, on a life journey with chronic illnesses, I understand where you are coming from. I have spent decades researching effective ways to cope with challenges that can arise. In addtion, I have dedicated myself to research and as a subject matter expert in grief and loss. We we need support from those with specific expertise to process the emotions related to the death of someone in our lives or the feelings of anticipation knowing that a loved one is dying or the losses we experience when our bodies are unable to do the things we had hope to accomplish in life.

There are additonal tools that can help with our emotional and physical pain. Clinical hypnosis can be a phenomenal tool to assist with increased sleep, decreased anxiety, decreased pain (even with cancer, migraines, and autoimmune disorders to name a few).

Let’s talk about what you are needing. I am passionate about supporting you in reaching your goals as you re-define what health looks like for you at this time in your life. You deserve to live the best life possible.

When you are facing the end-of-life, I am here to ensure that we discuss your wishes so you have a voice, feel empowered, and are able to expereince the best death possible.

I’m here to walk with you on this journey. We will celebrate the victories as they happen. We will collaborate together to acquire effective tools and techniques, while determining new ways to think about difficulties and pain so we handle them differently when they arise. It’s ok to not be ok. It is also ok to celebrate when positive things happen.

As a Fellow in Thanatology, I have extensive training and experience in death education, care of the dying, and grief counseling in order to support those experiencing loss. I am also a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, National Register Health Service Psychologist, as well as being certified in Critical Incident Stress Management (crisis and disaster response) and having advanced training in Clinical Hypnosis.

I have served as a therapist in public and private schools, villages in Alaska, residential substance abuse treatment programs, community mental health centers, an acute inpatient psychiatric hospital, and the VA healthcare system. I have worked with individuals to provide culturally sensitive psychological assessments and advocate for their needs in community settings, school systems, villages in Alaska, and the VA. In the universities, I taught doctoral students how to provide these holistic assessments.

My clinical research has focused on culturally-sensitive therapeutic care for Native Americans based on multi-generational trauma and loss, as well as the use of clinical hypnosis to assist patients who have a diagnosis of PTSD with their CPAP compliance.

I speak internationally with a focus on serving women in the BIPOC community struggling with the impact of chronic illness. I have created a 40-hour certification program for clinicians to understand the complicated process of being a patient in the medical system and the interventions that enhance their ability to serve people struggling with chronic illnesses on their Journey to Health with Chronic Illness.

To learn more about other topics that I speak on and obtain a free consultation for speaking events, please visit www.drdamita.com.