Dana Nygaard, MA, LPC

Licensed PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR

You are stressed, confused, and seeking some direction.

You want a Catholic therapist who understands both the soul and the psychology. One who will tell you the truth and not waste your time.

A Counselor for Catholic Women, Men, and Couples

Dana Nygaard is a Licensed Professional Counselor (Texas #71753) with a private practice in Plano, Texas. She helps Catholic women, men, and couples heal from anxiety, depression, codependency, and the relational wounds that quietly shape daily life and love. Her work integrates evidence-based clinical care with the teachings of the Catholic faith.

Her Path to This Work

Dana came to counseling through several paths that converged.

The first was personal. She did her own long work of healing before walking with anyone else through theirs. She knows the path of leaving unhealthy patterns and building something new. Her own therapist played a meaningful role in that healing and in her decision to enter the field. As Dana puts it: "Every good therapist has a therapist."

The second was professional. Before becoming a therapist, Dana taught Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Psychology to high school students. Watching teenagers transform simply by learning about the mind, attachment, and human behavior planted the seed. Many of her former students are now therapists, clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists themselves.

The third was vocational. As her faith deepened, so did her sense that this work was a calling, not just a career. She also saw how often Catholic clients in secular therapy were guided toward solutions that pulled them away from the faith they were trying to live. She wanted to be the alternative.

Her Approach

Dana brings the same posture to every session: take the client seriously, take the work seriously, and refuse to let either drift. She believes therapy should change something. A session that ended exactly where it started is a session that did not do its job.

That conviction shapes how she works. She watches for patterns the client may not yet see. She names what she finds. She offers frameworks, skills, and the kind of practical next steps a client can actually use. She integrates the Catholic tradition not as a flavor on top of the clinical work but as the foundation underneath it.

Dana's clinical methods include cognitive-behavioral therapy, attachment theory, Level 1 training in the Gottman Method, and a Trauma Therapy Certificate from the Trauma Care Institute. Her additional certifications include Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) for working with children and families affected by trauma, Process Addiction training, and Texas Ethics certification. Her ongoing training spans trauma, addiction recovery, family systems, marriage preparation, and the integration of faith with clinical practice.

Education and Credentials

Dana holds a Master of Arts in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University and a Bachelor of Secondary Education from the University of North Texas.

She is a member of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association. She serves the Diocese of Dallas as a Marriage Readiness Assessor and is FOCCUS and REFOCCUS trained for engaged marriage preparation. Dana has served as a volunteer therapist for Rachel's Vineyard retreats and as a Chastity Speaker for the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of Dallas.

She is a featured therapist on CatholicTherapists.com and MyCatholicDoctor.com.

Dana is the author of 365 Dates to Renew Your Christian Marriage, a year of intentional dates designed to help couples pursue each other again through thoughtful, faith-grounded conversation. She has spoken at the Dallas Ministry Conference, the Catholic Family Life Association (formerly National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers), and Catholic Pro-Life events on topics including marriage, communication, and pastoral care.

Dana is currently completing Year 1 of formation at Encounter School of Ministry, Dallas Campus.

Personal Life

Dana and her husband, David, have been married for 16 years and built the kind of marriage they hoped for. Dana is the creator and facilitator of Cana Commandments, a marriage enrichment retreat that helps couples live out deeper intimacy through the lens of sacramental marriage. David supports the retreats by overseeing the men's breakout sessions and by providing the protection and provision that make the work possible. Their marriage has shaped Dana's clinical understanding of what makes a marriage thrive and what makes it suffer.

Work With Dana

Dana sees clients in person at her Plano office and through telehealth across Texas.

You can spend years second-guessing yourself, or begin understanding what has truly been happening.