Certified Gottman Therapist
Licenses:
California LMFT #99008 | Texas LMFT #205614
Dr. Dana McNeil is a licensed marriage and family therapist and the founder of The Relationship Place, a San Diego couples therapy practice specializing in high-acuity relationships, emotional disconnection, conflict repair, and intimacy concerns. She has achieved the highest level of training in the Gottman Method Couples Therapy and is known for her compassionate, direct, and practical approach to helping couples rebuild trust, communication, and closeness.
She is also the founder of Therapy Getaway, a structured couples intensive model designed for couples seeking deep, focused relationship repair. Dana has specialized expertise in midlife marriage challenges, empty nest transitions, and gray divorce, and provides training and professional education for therapists, including work connected to the Gottman Institute.
Her expertise has been featured in national publications including Oprah Daily, Martha Stewart Living, Men’s Health, Bustle, and SELF Magazine.
She is passionate about helping couples move from feeling like roommates to rebuilding emotional and physical connection.
Expressing love can be tough, especially when your efforts don’t seem to resonate. We all have different ways of showing and receiving love, and understanding your partner’s preferences can enhance your relationship and ensure your love is communicated.
On Valentine’s Day, Mind Body Green released an article that dove deeper into this topic, featuring insights from our founder, Dr. Dana McNeil.
In the article, McNeil points out that showing love can be as simple as saying thank you to your partner. But people sometimes tend to forget this. According to her:
We wouldn’t want to forget to say thank you to the barista who made our coffee or the colleague who helped us finish a project, so why do we sometimes let the manners slide with our partner?
It could be because we’re stuck in a “negative sentiment override” pattern, in which we assume the worst intentions from our partners,
Partners should break the cycle by making an effort to think of their relationship and their partner in a positive way. She says:
You can subvert negativity by thanking your partner when they do something for you, writes McNeil. No matter how big or small, a heartfelt thank you always goes a long way.
Click here to read the full article by Francesca Bond.