Reesa Donnelly, Ph.D.

I'm so glad you're here, and I hope I can help you on your journey. I have been a therapist for over 20 years and I love transforming relationships. Whether it’s the relationship with ourselves, the relationship with our partner, or the relationship with our children, it’s so powerful to see the changes that new skills and a new outlook can create. I specialize in children with trauma or emotional/ behavior problems, couples counseling, and adult therapy for depression, anxiety, and trauma. Therapy can be scary. We can be afraid of judgement. We can be afraid to open up the pain in our lives. That's why I honor therapy as a sacred space. My approach balances compassion with empowered change. I use a lot of humor as we collaborate to understand how life has brought you to this exact moment, so you can let go of who you've become and become who you truly are. I use only evidence-based therapies (research-tested treatments) to ensure our sessions will result in real improvements and meaningful change. I believe in accessibility to mental health care, which is why my services are in-network for Lyra, Aetna, and Optum/United Health Care. As a wife for over 20 years and a mom of 2 teenagers myself – I get it! Relationships are not always easy, even on a smooth day. It takes a lot of compassion and little bit of humor to help transform challenges into an opportunity for growth. I'm looking forward to working with you on your path. If you're interested in more about my training and experience: I completed my undergraduate degree in 3 years at the University of Virginia, majoring in Psychology. During my Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Central Florida, I was dual-trained in working with children and adults, as well as had my initial training in the Gottman Method Couples Therapy. I completed my internship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, where I worked with adults on inpatient unit at Ben Taub Hospital and with children using Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) at Depelchin Children’s Center. As the project director for a NIMH RO1 Research Grant on Group PCIT for children with ADHD, I was mentored by the founder of PCIT, Sheila Eyberg, at the University of Florida during a 4-year post-doctoral fellowship. I then served as a PCIT Global Trainer for 13 years and have trained 100+ PCIT therapists to certification criteria, 50+ PCIT Within-Agency trainers, and 8 PCIT Regional Trainers (including consulting trainees on over 900 PCIT cases). I served as an ad-hoc member of the PCIT Board of Directors, Chair of the PCIT Continuing Education Task Force, and member of the PCIT Policy and Advocacy Task Force. For nearly a decade, I served as the Behavioral Health Director at Fundamental Therapy Solutions in Gainesville FL, where I secured Medicaid credentialing for our families and had the honor of working over 300 families conducing therapy, autism assessments, and IQ testing. Currently, I run my own private practice and provide virtual services across the state of Florida, as well as in-person services on the North and West sides of Gainesville. In addition to PCIT, I use Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) to help child survivors of trauma, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for anxiety and depression in children and adults, and the Gottman Method for couples therapy.