Licensed Professional Counselor Offering Marriage & Premarital Counseling, Family & Individual Counseling and Online Counseling

Dana Vince, M.A., Licensed Professional Counselor, Mental Health Service Provider 

I am a licensed Professional Counselor practicing in the Knoxville area of Tennessee. I am originally from New York. I spent four years in the U.S. Army in the area of military intelligence. While in the Army, I got my bachelors degree in Psychology from Chaminade University in Hawaii. Upon honorable discharge from the military I moved to Florida and attended the University of South Florida where I successfully completed my masters degree in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling with a certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy. I established my private practice in 2006 in Wesley Chapel, Florida prior to relocating to Knoxville, Tennessee. I am married to a wonderful husband and have 2 beautiful and spirited children. My family is my first passion. Helping families heal is my life's work.

I began my work with families in 2001. I started out in the field as a Child Protective Investigator with the Department of Children and Families. After 2 years I transitioned into counseling families that were in the system to help improve their parenting and relationship skills to assist them in getting out of the system. I did my counseling internship counseling teenage girls and their families in a moderate risk lock down facility. I have now been in private practice since 2006 focusing on marriage counseling with the philosophy that marriage is the foundation of the family.  This work is important to me because I have seen in my own life how much people struggle with relationship problems. I have seen how people who start out loving each other, end up hurting each other. So it has become my life's work to counsel couples and families on how to communicate in ways that nurture one another and form deeper bonds in their relationships. It is important to me to provide a safe and confidential environment where couples and families can talk about the difficult and sometimes painful issues that are causing problems in their lives.

Stacy Hernandez, M.A., Licensed Professional Counselor, Mental Health Service Provider 

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor practicing in the Knoxville area of Tennessee. I am originally from Austin, Texas and moved to Knoxville four years ago. I obtained my Bachelor of Arts degree in Austin, Texas at St. Edward’s University. Shortly after obtaining my degree, I followed my husband around for 12 years in the United States Air Force. During our many different “duty stations” I was able to obtain my Masters of Arts in Family Psychology at Hardin-Simons University in Abilene, Texas. My program focused primarily with couples and families, while enabling me to counsel a diverse population. I am married to a wonderful, supportive husband and have two beautiful children. I am and have always been very dedicated to my family. They are the foundation of my life and I understand how important the impact of a family is in many situations in your life. Helping families and couples is very important to me and something I feel very passionate about.

I began my work with families in 2004 as a counselor in San Antonio, Texas working with children, couples and families. I was able to instruct parenting classes, premarital classes and counsel families and couples that were facing concerns. After 2 ½ years my husband decided to part from the military leaving him to make a decision to possibly relocate his family depending on the job he found. In 2007 he was able to find a job in Knoxville, Tennessee. After moving to Knoxville, I was able to obtain a job at Child and Family Tennessee working with families, children and the department of children’s services. I held many hats while working here, giving me many diverse opportunities related to helping families, children and reunifications. In addition, I have had the opportunity of having my own private practice focusing on families, children and couples. I have chosen to add to my experience by joining Healing Hearts Counseling to specifically focus on families and marriage counseling.

I have known for a very long time that marriage counseling and helping families is my passion. I believe marriage is the foundation of the family. It’s kind of like the oar with the boat. Without the oar the boat doesn’t go too far. Also, if the oar is cracked or damaged it is not able to be used to its fullest potential. I believe when you have a good marital foundation the rest of the family is better able to co-operate in a healthier way. I look forward to working with you to improve your current situation you and your spouse are currently in while providing a safe, confidential environment.

Shawn L. Spurgeon, PhD., Licensed Professional Counselor, Mental Health Service Provider

I am licensed in the state of Tennessee to practice as a professional counselor. I was born and raised in North Carolina and spend the first 37 years of my life there. I received my undergraduate degree in Psychology from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After working for three years at a residential group home for adjudicated and neglected youths, I attended The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), where I received my masters’ degree in community counseling and my educational specialist degree in marriage and family counseling. I completed my education with a Doctorate of Philosophy in Counseling and Counselor Education from UNCG and taught at two separate universities before taking a position as a faculty member in the Mental Health counseling program at The University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2006. I am married to a wonderful Nurse and we have four active children, including 8 year old twin boys! I have enjoyed the opportunities given to me to teach individuals how to connect with clients and how to do the work of a mental health counselor. However, my deepest passion is for helping couples and families work through the difficulties they face and learn how to heal together. 

My internship experiences focused on working with adjudicated youth and their families. I began my clinical work in 1999. I started out as a clinician with a family services agency and my main responsibilities were completing clinical intakes with potential clients and working with families of adjudicated and delinquent youth. During this time, I also had the opportunity to engage couples in helping them to improve their parenting and relationship skills through group work and couples counseling. While completing my doctoral studies, I worked part-time at a community mental health center. The majority of my caseload was adolescents and their families. I also had the opportunity to work with the couples within these family systems. 

I believe that the family unit serves as a focal point for individual development and that the most important relationship within that unit is the relationship between the primary care givers. I think it is very important to help couples understand how to communicate with each other in a way that promotes development, love, appreciation, and respect. I have seen how unspoken feelings can be so destructive in relationships and how the inability to express and communicate love can lead couples to do things and say things that they regret. I think it is very important to provide a safe, warm, and welcoming environment for couples and families to process their thoughts and feelings and to address what may be some very painful realities about their relationships. I believe that families and couples can heal and form deep, lasting bonds and have seen this healing in my own life.

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