• Who are you?

I’m Felina Danalis (she/her), M.A., S.E.P.

For more than a decade, I’ve helped hundreds of individuals, groups and mission-driven organizations master resilience to stress, anxiety and trauma in order to have a more meaningful impact in the world.

• Why should I trust you?

GREAT question!

I’ve got undergraduate and graduate degrees from Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities plus tons of other trainings to help people transform their lives. Organizations I’ve worked with include Google, the Betty Ford Center, the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Planned Parenthood, the Children’s Advocacy Center, Insight LA, the Dharmachakra Buddhist Center, the Young Presidents Organization, and San Diego County Water Authority - plus many private companies seeking to offer retreats and trainings to their employees to become more resilient to stress.

In addition to completing the three-year intensive training to become a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, I’m also an assistant in Somatic Experiencing trainings to help psychotherapists, social workers, medical professionals and other practitioners learn about healing trauma and nervous system regulation.

• How many languages do you speak?

Being raised bilingual in New York and New Jersey, I loved hearing other languages spoken - especially because communication is at the heart of what makes us human. I know how it feels when someone goes out of their way to say Yiasou or Hola! and like many of my clients, often translated for family members who weren’t fluent in English. I speak Greek, Italian, French, Spanish and un peu de Turkish and Serbian. My intention is to offer culturally competent support to the folks I work with - and being able to even say a few palabras in someone’s native tongue, can sometimes make all the difference in cultivating safety and connection.

• What’s an embarrassing mistake you made and what did you learn from it?

True fact - I made it through college and until my 40s without so much as taking a hit of weed - or any other criminalized substance ever. My spiritual practice was pretty serious and mind-altering substances were never a part of it. I laugh about it now, but I was incredibly judgmental when a colleague of mine (an open-minded M.D.) was exploring the therapeutic uses of entheogens and psychedelics and told me about them. I literally stood there with my arms folded across my chest like Lucy from Peanuts and thought people should be able to just meditate, pray or do endless yoga asanas for healing (ugh!) After witnessing some profound miracles of transformation, however, not only have I become an advocate of the therapeutic use of psychedelics (psilocybin, ketamine, Ayahuasca, etc) in certain circumstances but now I regularly offer pre and post-session psychedelic integration work to folks around the world to integrate these experiences. I love the fact that I was completely, 100% wrong and get to see the results that happen when folks feel called to these sacred sacraments. (Also - humility is a REALLY good thing for anyone in the helping professions, don’t you think???)

• if we work together, will you make greek food for me?

No, agape mou, but I promise you that we can talk about it as much as you like.

(You are welcome, however, to share on your social media pictures of Greek food with tons of garlic and olive oil and how much you love working with me - and can find me here).

• Where are you?

I live on the land of the Cahuilla people in what is today known as Palm Springs, California.

I see folks in person at my office in town and (upon request) throughout So Cal at various beaches and other inspiring locations, including on retreat. Because while healing takes effort, nature is often our greatest resource.

(And yes, yes - I do the Zooms, too, for folks who want to do this work around tout le monde). 

• Is it true that you used to be an international diplomat in a war zone?

Yep, for years I worked for international organizations (including the World Bank, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Greece and the European Union) doing international development work. My life was going beautifully according to a very ambitious plan and I felt I had finally arrived. Then someone was killed in a fatal car bombing I witnessed just feet away while serving in the Balkans. That shock trauma almost broke me …. Until I left my career, went to live on a Greek island to heal and began to study Buddhist meditation, that is.

It was the experience of that break-through moment that made it possible for me to help others today in extremely stressful, multidimensional situations.

You can say I’ve been there. Done that. Got more than one t-shirt.

• Why do you do this work?

Like the children of many immigrants to this country, I’m proud to have been a first-generation college student. Like those other kids who were granted a spot previously reserved only for the privileged and well-connected, I hustled like nobody’s business to overcome a lineage with tremendous intergenerational trauma.

Today I am am passionate that unless those in the helping professions - coaches, therapists, doctors, psychologists, educators and healers - also have a lens of how systemic trauma manifests in the individual and collective nervous system, we are missing the boat. As a bi-cultural polyglot, I’m passionate about doing what I can to create empowering spaces for all, regardless of race, class, immigration status, financial privilege, gender identity, religion or any other attribute. 

• How can I work with you?

Click here to complete the Initial Coaching Assessment.

Once that has been received, you’ll be contacted pronto to schedule a Consultation either in person or on Zoom. At that time, I’ll be able to support you in taking the next steps in your healing journey and answer any questions you may have. (Please note: insurance is not accepted, but you can find other great Somatic Experiencing Practitioners that might by going here).