Therapy for teens and young adults who are struggling with trauma, anxiety & OCD, and relationships.
In-person therapy in South Portland, Maine and online therapy for clients in Maine, Massachusetts, and Florida.
Therapy to help you heal at the source for long-term change.
My name is Savannah Davis, and I’m a licensed mental health therapist with a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Social Work with a clinical concentration and a Certificate in Trauma-Informed Care. I bring a warm, compassionate, and laid back-yet-professional approach to therapy, and truly love getting to know my clients and the ins and outs of what’s bringing them to therapy.
I work primarily with teens (16+) and young adults, aiming to help them get to the source of their struggles, rather than just putting out fires or treating the symptoms.
As we get to know each other, we’ll start to pinpoint patterns and cycles that aren’t working for you, while also striving to understand how and why these patterns formed in the first place so that you can use these insights to promote future growth. Instead of just learning coping skills and tools (which may be an important part, but not the whole of it), we’ll get underneath the surface to help promote long-term change.
Not sure if you’re in the right place?
Here’s what often brings people in:
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Anxiety & OCD.
Many of my clients are harsh self-critics and perfectionists, which often (though not always) creates a negative feedback loop with symptoms of anxiety and OCD. They feel like they need to be the best student, employee, friend, parent/child, you name it. The anxiety drives them to try to fulfill unrealistic expectations of themselves, and then they feel more anxiety (usually mixed with shame and guilt) when they don’t meet these unrealistic expectations.
Others describe tendencies that can be obsessive, worries that feel irrational and difficult to shake, and a general unsettled feeling that often leaves them on-edge. It’s not uncommon for clients to say that they don’t know why they feel the way they do, but that it feels like there’s something wrong with them.
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Trauma.
Sometimes trauma is easily-identifiable and obvious, like a car accident, physical assault, natural disaster, and so on. This is called acute trauma. Other times, it’s harder to spot and so it flies under the radar, finding sneaky ways to rear its ugly head when people are least expecting it. This is usually chronic trauma, which typically arises from long-lasting circumstances like an abusive relationship, unmet childhood needs, and other interpersonal/relationship-based traumas.
Regardless, trauma can take such a toll on people’s lives and wellbeing. Often, my clients say that it can make it feel hard to trust others, hard to get close to people, and hard to open up. It can feel hard to trust that things are going to be okay, and when things are going well, it feels like the other shoe is bound to drop at any point. Sometimes, the world just feels like a scary and dangerous place.
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People-pleasing & relationship issues.
When clients are new to therapy, they often talk about feelings of resentment towards friends, family, and significant others, or the feeling that everyone leans on them, yet they have no one to lean on. So often, this is because of the dynamics and expectations that have formed in the relationship.
Shifting these dynamics is certainly not an easy feat, but it is possible. When this starts to change, clients are able to experience greater fulfillment in relationships that feel more balanced, which in turn, impacts their own happiness and wellbeing.
Often, it’s helpful to start to understand why you’re engaging in relationships in the manner that you are. This is where therapy comes in. We’ll explore these patterns in a nonjudgmental manner, while working together to figure out the changes you want to make going forward.
Therapy isn’t just talking things out.
I work from a psychodynamic lens and have advanced training in the following therapeutic modalities, which I incorporate into my sessions as appropriate for the individual:
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EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, is an evidence-based modality that is proven highly effective in treating symptoms of PTSD. It can also be used to treat anxiety, depression, phobias, and more. Many clients say that EMDR “feels like magic” due to its ability to provide expedited relief from the impacts of trauma and other adverse life experiences.
EMDR works by literally helping the brain to reprocess the way that experiences have been stored in the brain. In doing so, we reduce the traumatic or distressing association with these memories, which leads to improvements in the present day.
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ERP, or Exposure and Response Prevention therapy, is a specialized modality that is most often used to treat OCD and anxiety. Researchers learned that OCD typically requires a different approach than some of the run-of-the-mill interventions for generalized anxiety - that said, ERP teaches individuals to tolerate, rather than avoid, anxiety, and therefore decrease obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.
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EFIT, or Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy, is a modality that revolves around connection, attachment, and deep emotional processing. It is a method of therapy that helps clients to heal the root of their struggles through the processing and resolution of emotions and experiences.
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ARC, or Attachment, Regulation, and Competency, is a trauma-informed therapeutic framework that addresses traumatic stress, resilience building, and relational attachment. ARC is primarily used with children and teenagers, and aims to help clients deepen their abilities to effectively identify, understand, and process emotions; build skills for self-regulation; and foster positive connections and attachments for improved overall wellbeing and mental health.
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•ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
•DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy)
•TF-CBT (Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
What does this process look like?
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Step One
We set up a free 15-minute consultation call where we will figure out if working together feels like a good fit. I will ask a few questions to learn about what’s bringing you into therapy. If you want to address something that’s outside my scope, I will be transparent with you and will provide referral options. I answer any questions you have, and if we decide that it’s a good fit on both ends, we will set up an initial appointment.
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Step Two
We meet for our first appointment. In this session, I will likely have a lot of questions for you as I start to understand more about you, what’s happening in your life currently, and any relevant background/historical information. You’re welcome to share as much or as little as you feel comfortable with. Within our first few sessions, we will develop treatment goals that align with your needs and will chart a course forward.
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Step Three
Around sessions 3-4, we will likely start to find our rhythm and get more in depth in our work. I ask that new clients commit to weekly sessions for the first several months of therapy, though some clients may choose to reduce frequency to biweekly sessions once significant progress is made. I will check in with you regularly to ensure that our sessions are feeling productive for you and to ensure that progress is being made.
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Step Four
Therapy can be short-term for some (3-6 months) and longer term for others (1-3+ years). When you are feeling as though you’ve gotten what you needed from therapy, we will work together to create a plan for ending therapy in a way that feels supportive to you. This is your opportunity to celebrate all of your hard work!
Love dogs? Meet Casco.
Casco (named after Casco Bay in Portland) is an affectionate, gentle, hypoallergenic Australian labradoodle. Australian labradoodles were initially bred to be therapy dogs for individuals with allergies, as they tend to be very sensitive, intuitive, and kind. Casco usually comes to the office with me on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Clients describe him as sweet and gentle, and say that he has a comforting presence during their sessions. He loves to greet everyone when they arrive, then he takes a nap or, if desired by the client, snuggles up on the couch.
If you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to contact me.
