Phone:	404-377-9000, Ext. 2
Email:	DrSDowns@gmail.com
Website:	Oakhurst Psychotherapy Associates
Address:	317 West Hill Street, Suite 101
	Decatur, GA 30030

“As a therapist, my goal is to offer a holistic approach to the facilitation of change which promotes overall health, happiness, growth & healing for my clients. I see therapy as a pathway to experiencing an internal sense of harmony, integrity and balance.“

As a clinical psychologist and a certified massage therapist, Dr. Shannon Dammann utilitzes an integrative approach to therapy that honors the whole of the mind, body and spirit. Shannon offers a deep respect for each person’s inner wisdom and views her role in the therapeutic healing process as a co-facilitator of the natural healing abilities of the mind and body. Shannon's areas of specialty include: trauma and abuse recovery; couples/marriage and family therapy; helping families transition successfully through the teenage years; personal growth and development; and integrated bodywork.

With a solid foundation of diverse training and experience, each session is tailored to meet the individual needs of her cients. Dr. Dammann graduated from the Atlanta School of Massage in 1994 and she completed her Doctorate of Psychology in 1998. Her dissertation research focused on “the ethical use of touch in psychotherapy”.

In addition to practicing traditional experiential, humanistic and systems oriented psychotherapy, Shannon also offers a blended, integrative body-work approach to therapy for certain clients that request this type of work.. Shannon frequently works in conjunction with other psychotherapists, providing bodywork as an adjunct to psychotherapy.

Dr. Dammann is also available for workshops and trainings on topics related to the ethical use of touch in psychotherapy.

Therapeutic massage and Integrated Bodywork can often expedite both physical and psychological healing for people who suffer from many different types of trauma and disorders. These include: depression, anxiety, fatigue, addictions, body-image concerns, eating disorders, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.

By providing a safe, supportive environment for experiencing positive, non-sexual, nurturing touch, the client is allowed a therapeutic opportunity to reconnect with the physical body and emotions in positive ways. At no time will any form of aggressive touch or sexual touch be utilized or tolerated in this therapeutic context. Although your therapist may suggest various options for therapeutic work, it is important that the client feel ultimately in control of the direction and pace of any massage or bodywork session. If you are seeking massage or bodywork as an avenue for healing from trauma, be sure to discuss this goal with your therapist(s) so that your sessions can be tailored to meet your individual needs for comfort, safety and healing. You may choose to work with one therapist that does blended work, or you may prefer to work with a psychotherapist who does not do bodywork and then see a massage therapist as an adjunct to your psychotherapy work.

Basic therapeutic massage differs from Integrated Bodywork in many ways. Although both are designed to soothe and heal emotional and physical pain, massage therapy does not include psychotherapy in the treatment session. Integrative Bodywork is a form of psychotherapy that involves a blending of psychological support and intervention with therapeutic touch. Thus, more time is allowed for depthful emotional preparation and processing of the clients psychological needs and experiences during an Integrated Bodywork session than is available in during a therapeutic massage session. Integrated Bodywork should only be provided by a licensed therapist who has received advanced training in counseling or psychology, as well as training in touch and body-oriented therapy.

Integrated Bodywork may initially involve non-touch work that allows the client to focus attention on physical experiences and reactions to emotional material. Therapeutic touch will be utilized only when the therapist and client have determined that it is in the client's best interest for psychotherapeutic healing and growth. Forms of touch that may be utilized range from a simple laying on of hands to deep tissue therapeutic massage treatments for specific concerns.

As our lives unfold, our biological health becomes a living, breathing biographical statement that conveys our strengths, weaknesses, hopes, and fears. Every thought you have had has traveled through your biological system and activated a physiological response. Some thoughts are like depth charges, causing a reaction throughout the body. A fear, for instance, activates every system of your body: your stomach may tighten, your heart race, you may break into a sweat. A loving thought can relax your entire body. Some thoughts are more subtle, and still others are unconscious. Some may have little or no meaning and pass through the body like wind through a screen, requiring no conscious attention, and their influence upon our health is minimal. Yet each thought generates a physiological response. Those that carry emotional, mental, psychological or spiritual energy produce biological responses that are then stored in our cellular memory. It is in this way that our physical and psychological systems are woven together gradually, slowly, every day. (paraphrased from "Anatomy of the Spirit", by Caroline Myss, Ph.D.)