Dana Houk, MS, CPLC

 

 

 

 

Sixteen years ago, I was in an unhappy marriage and experienced communication problems, conflicts, intimacy and trust issues as well as endless arguments. The problem was that we had nothing in common. After 8 years of being together and feeling unhappy, I suggested counseling. He was not interested and was emotionally disconnected, which lead to his infidelity and me filing for divorce. I went to counseling alone to cope with my divorce and understand what went wrong. Although it seemed helpful to talk about my problems, I often walked away from my sessions feeling empty.

Three years later, I met my soul mate and we were married 11 months later. He was everything I ever wanted in a husband and we have been happily married since 2004. However, I was in uncharted territory when we first got married. Specifically, I married into a blended family and a military man who left for deployments frequently. Since I was having a difficult time adjusting, we sought marriage counseling. I remember rehashing our disagreements and the counselor looking bored. She rarely said anything. So, after a few sessions, we stopped going and worked things out on our own.

In the beginning of our marriage, I was also going to school for psychology. I always knew I wanted to help make a difference in people’s lives, but when I thought about my own experience with counseling I wasn’t sure if that would be enough to help other people. I didn’t want anyone to ever walk away from my sessions feeling empty or that it was a waste of time. Shortly after I graduated with my master’s degree in psychology, a friend told me about an academic success position for an online university. I took the job and spent over 1000+ hours coaching students. Since I was able to effectively help so many students, they put me on a special projects team to work with students who were going through challenging times. I was able to help them successfully move past their obstacles in academics, careers and/or their personal lives.

I realized during that time how much I enjoyed helping people change their lives, which is why I became a certified life coach. Moreover, I created a unique service by combining my experience, background in psychology and life coaching techniques. This gives clients the best of both worlds. Initially, I focused on life, career and relationship coaching. However, most of my clients were couples who wanted and needed coaching for their relationships or marriage. That’s when I started specializing in relationship coaching. When my clients come to me, I listen to their problems, ask thought provoking questions, identify their issue(s), come up with a customized plan and provide solutions by giving them assignments to complete before their next session. I have extremely high success rates among clients, who are committed to the process, come to their scheduled sessions, and do their assignments on time.

I own and operate In Touch Coaching LLC and hold a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and Development from Walden University as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with a concentration in Psychology from University of Hawaii-West Oahu (UHWO). I was also a Public Relations Officer of the Psychology club while attending UHWO. Additionally, I am a certified Life Coach from Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) and a certified Peer Coach from Everest University Online (EUO). I have been a member of PSI CHI the International Honor Society in Psychology since 2007. I am also a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), which requires extensive training and strict coaching requirements. In 2014, I co-authored a book called Transform Your Life! and was a guest on Dining for One Health and Wellness show.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS

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