Our compassionate team

Specialties include (but not limited to) Childhood and attachment trauma in intimate relationships, infidelity, high conflict in intimate relationships, LGBTQ.

Hi there, my name is Dana Vince. I am the owner and founder of Healing Hearts Counseling and I’d like to share a little about myself and my journey of building this practice. I grew up on Long Island in New York. After serving in the United States Army for 4 years, I moved to Tampa, Florida where I earned my masters degree in Counseling. It was in Florida in 2006 that I started Healing Hearts Counseling. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to work with couples. I saw in my own life how people who love each other end up hurting each other and I wanted to understand this better and help people learn to love one another well. I wanted to learn how to help people heal their wounded places. I have always had a soft place in my heart for others’ pain. I wanted to understand more about how this love thing works and why it’s so hard. 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.

I had my degree and got the appropriate ongoing training to become a couples counselor, but the ones who have given me the most valuable education have been all the couples I have worked with over the years. I never take for granted the trust others place in me to walk their journey with them. I moved to Knoxville in 2010 and it was at that time that I began training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. That brought a whole new level of understanding and useable tools that I began to implement in my practice. And while I knew the research behind this method was strong, nothing compared to seeing with my own eyes the incredible healing impact this type of therapy had on the couples I was working with and in my own relationships. So I continued my training and efforts to master this model of therapy and in 2012 I became an EFT supervisor and started training other therapists.

It was at this time that my practice had grown beyond my capacity. Being only one person with only so many hours in the day, I had to start turning people away. It tore me up inside to turn people away who were reaching out for help, especially knowing I had such a powerful and effective way to help people get out of pain and distress. So I began hiring and training clinicians to be a part of my practice to see the clients I couldn’t see. This gave me great peace of mind because I could help more people and I knew they were getting the same quality care that I myself aim to provide through trusted colleagues working with me using the same effective model of couples therapy.

As the practice began to grow, it soon became overwhelming to continue to run the practice, teach and train therapists and still do the work I love and find most fulfilling, spending time with and helping individuals and couples heal.

In 2019 I brought on Adam York as my partner. When I met Adam I quickly saw why he had the reputation in Knoxville he had as an incredible helping professional. I got to know Adam well by supervising him in his learning of the Emotionally Focused Therapy model. An already highly educated and experienced therapist, I had urged Adam to go to the training for EFT knowing it would be a great fit and that it would transform the amazing work he was already doing. As I sat and watched his therapy tapes with him, I got to observe what an incredibly compassionate and gifted therapist he is. In doing other projects with Adam, I also got to observe that Adam is a really hard worker with strong ethics and integrity and is a natural leader. With his shared values and vision for how to serve couples and the Knoxville community, I knew he was the perfect fit for what I was looking for in a partner.

Now together, we continue to grow our team of incredibly compassionate therapists who share our passion for helping couples and families and are eager to learn and serve alongside of us. We personally pick and train each therapist that comes into this practice. It is of utmost importance to me that our clinicians share our vision and uphold our values of helping individuals and couples heal and find the connection and joy with one another that they long for.

Specialties include (but not limited to) Chrisitan counseling, infidelity, men’s issues, sex/porn addiction

Hi, my name is Adam York and I am the co-owner of Healing Hearts Counseling. I graduated from Johnson University with my Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and Professional Counseling, and I am currently pursuing my doctorate with the University of Tennessee.

My life’s work is to help people connect. In addition to my work in private practice, I work as the clinical director for Healthy Connections trying to strengthen relationships all over Knoxville through workshops, mentoring, and supervision. In addition to working with couples, I enjoy supervising therapists seeking to work with individuals, couples, and families. I primarily work from the perspective of emotionally focused therapy, believing that emotion drives the dance between partners, and that we all crave connection and fear isolation.

I have felt the deep confusion that occurs from the pain caused by those closest to us and the deep healing that occurs in the presence of a loving and nurturing relationship. I am passionate to help couples connect, whether they are fighting everyday or struggling to talk about small things. I started to hear about Dana Vince a few years back through therapists and clients of hers. Time and time again, I heard stories of dramatic reconciliation and renewed romance in couples who many other therapists might have written off as hopeless. I continued to hear stories from both men and women of Dana really understanding them and their relationship better than anyone ever had. I reached out to consult with her and quickly discovered that she has a relentless passion for couples and for helping therapists serve them well. I had read about emotionally focused therapy in graduate school, but had not pursued advanced training until Dana had recommended it. I have been supervised or received training from some of the most prominent national leaders in couples therapy and quickly realized that right in our backyard in Knoxville, we had a therapist with every bit as keen an insight into couples relationships as I had ever experienced. She understands couples better than they understand themselves, and more importantly she deeply cares about their relationship and them as people. She is widely known as the most gifted couples therapist in town, and when she asked me to partner with her in practice, I was incredibly flattered and overjoyed at the possibility of creating a space where couples relationships are given new life. I am so excited to join with Dana and the family at Healing Hearts Counseling to help the dream that couples imagine on their wedding day to become the reality that they get to live with every day.

My wife and I have been married since 2006, and we have two boys that we adopted from birth in 2011 and 2016. Do not be surprised if you bump into me and my wife at a sports match or movie with my older son, and if you see a small child shooting basketball for an hour or more, that is my younger son, and he will not talk to you much because he is really focused on his craft. When not with our kids, my wife and I enjoy playing strategic board games, working out, and traveling whenever we can.

Specialities include (but not limited to): marital conflict, grief, prenatal and postpartum distress.

I am a licensed psychologist practicing within the Knoxville, TN community. While I will always remain a Midwesterner at heart, I first fell in love with the charm of Tennessee while studying Psychology at Vanderbilt University. In 2016, I obtained a doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Adler University. Both the South and Midwest share the values of family and a sense of community, which are important to me. It is an honor to support individuals and couples navigating life’s challenges.

After experiencing the devastation and ripple effect of loss, I knew that my life’s passion was to help others feel connected and whole once again. In working with me you will come to find that empathy, compassion, and care are the cornerstones of who I am as a therapist and as a person.  I am truly dedicated to helping my clients heal past and present wounds and live the life they desire and deserve.  Being a licensed psychologist at Healing Hearts Counseling allows me to work alongside and consult with relationship experts whom I respect tremendously and continue to hone specialization in relationship concerns, grief, trauma, and infertility.

While each couple comes through our doors with a unique set of experiences and perspectives, they are not alone in the struggles they face to feel more connected or heard by their partner. You might find yourself in a rut exhausted by engaging in the same argument over and over again or feel misunderstood as if you and your partner are speaking a different language. It is common to respond by either pulling away to avoid conflict and keep the peace or react by lashing out in frustration deep down wanting to know if your partner still cares.  These negative relationship patterns can lead to feelings of disconnection and may take a toll on your partnership and happiness.  I assist couples by helping them to better understand this cycle and team up against the pattern versus blaming one another.  I also provide safety to be more vulnerable with your partner in a way that they can hear, understand, and receive.  Ultimately, our goal is to re-build safety, intimacy, connection, and fulfillment together.

As an individual facing loss, divorce, trauma, or infertility it may feel that the world as you know it has been shattered with no roadmap to guide you in moving forward.  Those around you may not know what to say or how to best support you.  I am here to bear witness to your pain and help you to feel more understood and less alone.  I assist clients in making meaning of experiences, reconstructing their vision of the future, relinquishing feelings of guilt and shame.

If you have come to our site you are making a brave step towards change and I look forward to taking the first step with you!

Specialties include (but not limited to): Infidelity, divorce recovery and work with LGBTQ couples.

Love and relationships can feel very confusing at times. It is my goal to encourage, support, teach and empower couples toward whole-hearted living and conscious relationships. I am dedicated to helping couples find joy, meaning, success and connection through the practice of mindful, purposeful living and loving. While intimate relationships long for new levels of consciousness and commitment, even the smallest steps can bring amazing ripple effects to couples. Seeing the small ripple effects occur in an emotionally safe space is what makes the work that I do so rewarding and fulfilling. Both therapeutically and personally, I am committed to never stop learning and growing and strive to instill hope and empower change in all of my couples. 

I have two Masters degrees in General Psychology and Professional Counseling. I am also a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the State of Illinois and a Licensed Professional Counselor, Mental Health Service Provider in the State of Tennessee. I am a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist and a Certified Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Trainer since 2016. 

I have 15 years’ experience in the field of therapy and mental health. My experience ranges from corrections, adolescent and adult residential, detox units, teaching at a college level, couples and family therapy, group work, and leadership. 

I grew up in Southern Illinois and relocated to Knoxville in 2012. I immediately fell in love with the mountains, outdoor life and East Tennessee living. Outside of the office, I enjoy a relaxed life with my husband, two dogs and a cat. My hobbies include baking, reading, hiking, fitness, traveling and occasionally a good Netflix binge. 

Specialities include (but not limited to):  marital distress, infidelity, young adults, and LGBTQ

It really hurts when you and your partner can’t seem to get through to one another. You may feel like you are having the same conversation over and over again without getting anywhere, or that it’s gotten so hard to talk that it feels easier not to talk at all. You are not alone. No matter how much two people love and care for each other, they can still find themselves in that painful, stuck place.

We are at our most vulnerable when in love. When something is that important to us, there’s a lot at risk. That vulnerability is what makes it so easy for partners to rub each other’s raw emotional spots, but that same vulnerability is also the pathway to deeper connection. I’ve witnessed the power of what can happen when a couple has a safe place to talk about the hard stuff. It is my goal to create that safe space and I consider it to be such a privilege and joy to work with couples who want to restore and deepen their bond.

The approach I use to help couples is called Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). My journey to working with couples began in 2014, working with the University of Tennessee Psychology Department’s Relationship Rx program as a Relationship Health Consultant. Despite seeing couples facing incredibly difficult challenges, I left that experience believing more than ever in the importance of relationships and in the capacity for healing within them. When I discovered EFT later, I quickly came to appreciate how it harnesses the incredible power of new emotional experiences to create lasting change. Since that time, I have completed an Externship in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), and I am working toward becoming certified in EFT, under the supervision of Healing Hearts Counseling owner Dana Vince. It is an honor to work with Dana and Adam York and the rest of the Healing Hearts team. Being part of a team focused on the same mission of helping couples allows us to learn from and with one another, grow together, support one another and be greater than any of us could ever be alone. I hope the people we serve will feel that energy and that this place I love so much can be special for them too.

I earned both a Master of Social Work degree (2013) and a Doctor of Social Work degree (2018) from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  Additional previous experience includes outpatient therapy at community mental health agencies and a university counseling center, working for mental health crisis response teams, and teaching Human Behavior in the Social Environment as adjunct faculty at the University of Tennessee College of Social Work. Beyond that, I am passionate about being a lifelong learner and exploring new ideas, the power of music to bring people together and make us feel, cheering on the Vols, and pizza.

Clay on the news

Specialties include (but not limited to): premarital counseling, empty nesters, and women’s issues.

Before I introduce myself, I want to say hello and tell you how proud I am that you are actively seeking help for either yourself or your relationship. It’s not easy to admit there is a problem and it’s even harder to take that first step in trying to make things better. Finding a therapist can be a daunting task. I know because I have done it myself and it’s so hard to choose the right person! Please know that you aren’t alone even in the searching process. I am here if you have questions or need to talk through anything. 

Now to me. 🙂 My name is Mandi and I am a provisionally licensed professional counselor. I grew up in a small town in Tennessee just outside of Knoxville with two older brothers who taught me love, a mother who fought for me to have better, and a father who taught me compassion and sacrifice. I was lucky to have a relationship with both of my parents even though they divorced when I was young. I know what it feels like to have a split family. I watched my parents hurt as they struggled to try and make it work, and it’s a big reason why I feel so connected to relationship work. I often wonder what could have been if only they knew how to communicate in a way that brings closeness instead of creating more distance. I realized years ago that no one teaches us how to make it work with another person. Schools don’t teach it and parents either hide fighting or fight out in the open. I won’t even get into what movies and books teach us about love… Disney and 90s romcoms am I right? Helping other families like you learn what it takes and avoid the heartache of separation is a true passion of mine directly because of my own experiences. 

I knew early in my educational experience that I wanted to specialize in couples and families, and I worked non-stop to set myself up to do exactly that. I completed my training for Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy before graduating with my master’s degree in counseling and contacted Dana immediately so I could continue to learn and grow. I believe in EFT with every fiber of my being. I have seen the power it has in helping couples find a deeper, more connected love. I have witnessed partners struggling with infidelity find understanding, forgiveness, and re-connection. I have even had couples tell me how it’s helping them communicate with their children or other family members. It has been the greatest joy and privilege to find EFT and help families with it. I have a true soft spot for those who love each other fiercely, but just don’t know how to make it work. On the flip side I also have a passion for helping those struggling with grief and loss. To lose any connection that matters is a singular kind of pain that sometimes takes a lifetime to learn to live with. I also truly enjoy working with couples who are early in their relationship or considering marriage. I believe in the power of being proactive and learning how to stop negative cycles before they even get started. This will set you up for a secure relationship that lasts a lifetime. No one enters a relationship or says vows intending to break them. It’s learning how to keep them that makes all the difference in the world.

In my spare time I love chilling at home with my husband and our two furbabies, Cash and Luna. You can often find us enjoying long walks with Cash, watching the Memphis Grizzlies grit and grind, wearing orange on Saturdays, or watching our favorite streamers play Call of Duty on Twitch (enter nerd emoji here). 

Hello! My name is Amanda Loven, and I am a Marriage and Family Therapist. As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I work systemically with individuals, couples, and full families to obtain the goals of each client. Did you know that your past attachment history can influence your current relationships? Finding these wounds can help in the success of connecting intimacy to your partner, and vice versa. I am passionate about working with couples and their struggles with sexual intimacy, sexual health, connecting through intimacy, and regaining connection through vulnerability.

I decided to become a therapist several years ago when I was a camp counselor for high school students. Discovering the brokenness that stemmed from sexual trauma (i.e. attachment injuries) with these young women pushed me to change my career path to psychology. After I graduated, I craved more knowledge of the field and decided to enroll in the graduate program at Lee University. Here, I learned of the wonderful world of Emotionally Focused Therapy and began to practice this in my therapy sessions with couples and families.

My favorite aspect of Emotionally Focused Therapy is the research and science that backs up this theory that change begins with vulnerability and connecting through emotion. With such a high rate of change and success in relationships, how could I not be drawn to learn more? I have been blessed with the opportunity to join the team at Healing Hearts Counseling, where Emotionally Focused Therapy thrives!

My goal is to bring a non-judgmental stance to the therapy room. I want my clients to feel safe while they invite me to be in the passenger seat along next to them.

Specialities include (but not limited to): marital conflict, grief and bereavement, and LGBTQ.

As a marriage and family therapist, I truly believe everything someone does makes sense in context. The thoughts one thinks, the emotions one feels, and the actions one takes are legitimate. How do we make sense of our own thoughts, feelings, and actions as well as those of our partners? My goal as a therapist is to create a safe, open space for couples to explore their own vulnerabilities both as individuals and as partners. Through vulnerability, love and connection can be lasting.

One area I feel called to is working with the bereaved. Death and loss scrambles our world in such an unpredictable and difficult way, and we are never truly prepared as humans to deal with loss. I have experienced the impacts of great loss in my own life and have been able to witness just how much it affects couples, families and individuals.

I received my Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Valdosta State University. My interest in studying and becoming a therapist stems from my own compassion towards others and venturing through life’s journey of love and loss. After living in Georgia my whole life, I began expanding my vision and started networking in Tennessee, where I ultimately discovered Healing Hearts Counseling. Instantly, I knew it was a good fit based on the practice’s therapeutic orientation and genuine, welcoming atmosphere. Knowing that I am able to collaborate and grow with other clinicians who are just as passionate about this work is an enthralling opportunity.

I spend most of my spare time making music and immersing myself in the world of film. I am always seeking to connect and relate with others through the art of storytelling

I am originally from Florida but have called Knoxville home for 9 years. I attended the University of Florida where I received a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Business. I have a passion for helping others and am excited to be a part of the Healing Hearts team where I can connect partners with counseling experts. My husband and I have two wonderful sons together. I feel strongly about the process of therapy and the many benefits it provides both individuals and couples. I look forward to assisting you in scheduling an appointment with one of our therapists.