About us

Lillian Hood, LPA

Our Story

Danson Counseling & Assessment Services began in 2013 and is a solo practice where all services are provided by me, Lillian Hood, a psychologist in North Carolina.

I started this company because I wanted a better way to help people. I’m always looking for ways to be more effective and to help my patients have the best chance of success. I have found that because of work schedules, child care, chronic illness, disability, and other reasons, people have a hard time getting to an office appointment.

They desperately want to make changes in their lives and need some help to get there, but they end up not able to keep 30-50% of their appointments. I knew that consistency is necessary for progress to happen, so I did some brainstorming about what could be an effective solution.

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That’s when I discovered online therapy using video conferencing. I admit, at first I was uncertain about this method of providing therapy.

It was different from what I was used to doing, and I just wasn’t sure it would be the right fit. I began using it with patients with whom I already had a relationship, and what a surprise! It was just as effective as an in-office visit, and my patients loved it.

They were able to have their sessions from whatever private location was available to them, and they were no longer canceling their appointments or falling out of therapy altogether because they couldn’t come to their sessions. They were able to stay in therapy until they had accomplished their goals. I was so excited to take it to the next level. Thus, my online practice was born.

Mission

At Danson Counseling, Lillian Hood provides accessible one-on-one therapy to promote freedom from the effects of trauma and anxiety.

Vision

To make effective anxiety and trauma counseling accessible to all.

Our Values

In my practice, I aim to promote hope, competence, accomplishment, independence, and freedom.

Hope

Trauma and anxiety can make you feel like even your own mind is out of control. People who reach out to me have often struggled for years and have turned to therapy as their last resort. I don’t know what your story is yet, but I will answer your questions about what’s ahead in the process of us working together to allow you to achieve your goals before you even have your first therapy session. During that process of therapy, I will only use strategies that evidence has shown works for people like you.

Competence

My goal is to teach you the skills you need to achieve your goals and to move on from therapy. The work you do between sessions is just as important as what we do in the session. I work with you to help you apply what you have learned in your daily life so that what you accomplish in therapy can stick with you.

Accomplishment

With patients, and my skills as a therapist, I do my part by teaching you the skills and walking you through how to use them. You putting that into practice gives you that sense of accomplishment. Reflecting on your progress can allow you to see how far you have come from where you started. This builds confidence that you may have lost through the effects of trauma and anxiety.

Independence

Therapy is a temporary part of your life. I want you to be able to use the skills you learned here on your own, and I want you to know you can do so effectively. This begins to happen through building competence, feeling accomplished, and improved confidence while in therapy.

Freedom

When you have achieved the goals you came here to accomplish, you are ready to leave therapy. You can continue to use the skills learned beyond therapy. At this point, you have dealt with the past. You have made changes with your own efforts. You know what to do and when. The freedom you feel from doing so is yours to keep.

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Who Is Lillian Hood?

The Psychologist

I’ve always been interested in understanding people. So, when I went to college, I studied psychology. I acquired both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. I graduated with my master’s degree in 2009 and have been working with people who struggle with the effects of trauma and anxiety ever since.

I have done specialized training at the Center for Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA) in Pennsylvania. At the CTSA, they have developed and tested the effectiveness of therapies that help people with PTSD, anxiety, OCD, phobia, and other anxiety-related disorders. There, I did special training in prolonged-exposure therapy, for the treatment of trauma, and exposure and response prevention therapy, for the treatment of OCD. I also completed training in evidence-based methods for treating generalized anxiety, panic attacks, and phobia.

Additionally, I use acceptance and commitment therapy (for various forms of anxiety and binge eating) and cognitive-processing therapy (for trauma) in my practice. Both are evidence-based, that is, we have proof that it works. Basically, I have spent my time learning the best ways to treat trauma and anxiety, and that is what I use to help people.

Regular Ole' Me

I value simplicity. For a while now, I’ve been obsessed with tiny houses. I have spent hours watching TV shows and YouTube channels about them. I have gone so far as to purge everything in my home that was unnecessary to make living in a tiny house possible and visited some that were for sale. I don’t own one… yet!

I especially enjoy live music. Give me a person playing an acoustic guitar with a decent voice and good lyrics, and I am so happy! I have tried learning to play the guitar myself. I’ll let you know when I accomplish that goal. 😉

I like to spend my time in nature. I live in an area where there are beautiful, old live oaks, and I just love to look at them. It is one of my own coping skills to go for a walk and take in the beauties of nature I can find.

I love laughter. It is also a coping skill of mine to watch comedy, especially stand-up comedy. I like to look for the funny side of things, and let that lift my spirit. I use humor in my personal life and in my work as a therapist to ease the uncomfortable moments and bring people joy.

When it’s time for me to get serious, I like to write. I’ll grab my iPad and go down to a coffee shop or cafe and just start writing. I do everything from journaling, essays, creative writing exercises, and novels. It’s just a hobby, but it brings me a lot of joy and healing when I need it.

Why I Do What I Do

The bottom line is, I know what it’s like to struggle with something that is hard to get past and that others don’t understand. I also know how freeing it is when you learn what you can do to put it behind you. I would like to share that with you.

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