Ann Durden Donovan, LPC

Following in my family's footsteps as the founders of Tucker’s Psychiatric Hospital in 1912, I have been a psychotherapist for more than 20 years.  As a therapist, I specialize in helping people effectively recognize and then communicate their emotions during turmoil within interpersonal relationships, including people who are struggling with divorce. My approach incorporates teaching skills to successfully navigate this experience as one of the hardest events in a person’s life.

This course will teach you:

1. To find your emotional balance while in an emotionally dysregulating situation
2. To identify your goals during and after divorce 
3. To make this a smooth transition to post-divorce life

Becoming your authentic self where the heart and head harmoniously coexist is the key to an amicable divorce. As a person who has been through a heart-wrenching divorce, access to a group like this that helps people process the experience would have benefitted me physically and emotionally.  It would have also saved me precious time and money while building resilience and fortitude. 

I received a BA with a double major in English and Theater Arts from Hollins University. Graduating first in my class at the MCV/VCU Rehabilitation Counseling program, I was awarded the prestigious Stalnaker-Wright Award for Achievement in Counseling, and have extensive training in Foundational DBT.  I was inducted in the Chi Sigma Iota Honor Society for Excellence in Professional Counseling, and am a Ph.D. candidate. Before becoming a therapist, I studied acting and comedy at The Lee Strasbourg School of Acting, Juilliard, and Groundlings. I also worked in Zimbabwe helping mothers find resources to feed their newborn children. These experiences helped me understand and connect to the human condition.  

I have 2 amazing children and Mr. Pickle, a cat who believes he is a dog.

I won’t pull you up the mountain, but I will climb it beside you.