Freedom Horse Counseling

I inherently care about helping you and value your unique life. I'm not a passive counselor/coach who leans back in her chair behind a clipboard muttering an occasional “um-hum.” I am genuinely interested in hearing your story and helping you discover tools and insights to heal and grow. I know that change can be hard and uncomfortable. I will read what you need in terms of how hard to push versus how to create space for you to slowly explore what you need to. My ultimate goal is to customize my support for you, and help you create empowerment, freedom and joy in your life. 

I received a Master’s of Science counseling degree from Walden University, with a focus in marriage, couples, and family counseling. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the state of Montana. I hold a PhD in Human Services from the Walden University School of Psycology. I'm am currently conducting research to help develop evidence-based best practices in equine-assisted psychotherapy. 

https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/19557/

Testimonials 

To say walking into Danica’s office changed my life forever would be an understatement. Danica was my first ever therapist, and walking in there feeling so comfortable and ready to open up because of the good energy she gives off, is why I’m a completely changed person in the best way possible. I went into therapy completely broken and not knowing how to get out of the situation I was in. She took me in wholeheartedly and led me step by step, at my own pace, until I got out of my situation. The progress and growth I have seen in myself since being in therapy is something I thought I’d never see before. I came out smarter, stronger, and more wise than ever. I learned coping mechanisms that genuinely work for me, I learned self-worth, I learned to be grateful for hard times, and most importantly, I learned the importance of taking care of myself. She pushed me to be better, she connected the dots for me and she supported me the whole way. I really love how I always walked out of the end of our session feeling like it was productive and like I was making progress. Danica is someone I could trust from the get-go. She’s someone who I feel genuinely cares about other people and tries to help them all she can. She is truly one of a kind, and I could not be more grateful for all that she has helped me through. Highly highly recommend to anyone!

-EM 

I can highly recommend Danica as a counselor!!  My faith in Counseling was crushed by other counselors I tried over the years. Some even made me worse. I was terrified to fail with yet another counselor. Then I got to meet Danica. She is kind, she cares and she truly wants to get you better! She really pays attention and gives such great feedback and tools to work with. And if you use them you will get better! With the results I got with Danica I could leave my nasty past behind! No more flashbacks and nightmares about the horrible abuse! Now I can move forward and finally enjoy my life! 

- BH

Danica is an excellent therapist! When I started my meetings with her I was so locked up in fear that I was afraid that my own emotions were somehow wrong. I couldn’t process feelings, let alone what actions to take or if any were even necessary.  This had resulted in an inability to recognize and break my cyclic tendencies that don’t serve me. She helped me to start trusting myself, start making decisions for myself, and even start to sort through a good decision vs a bad one. I truly believe that I have a future again, and I couldn’t have gotten here if I hadn’t found an open-minded professional who was able to tune in to my specific needs. Every session was personalized, I never once felt like ‘just another patient in a line of many.’ I always felt like an individual and I always felt heard, like what I said actually mattered. That feeling started to carry to my real world relationships as I learned to express myself appropriately. I owe it all to Danica, she truly changed the course of my life!  

- AA

I came to Danica not really sure what I needed or what direction I wanted to head in my therapy journey, I just knew I needed help and guidance through a dark time. She walked next to me through it all and listened when I needed someone to listen and guided when I needed some direction. Even when I thought I was finished and some time had passed since the last time I had worked with her, she was right there to answer my email and help me get back into the flow and feel safe and comfortable. She will always be a safe space for me. 

-LF

Coming into Danica's office was not the easiest thing for me, as I’ve not had the best experiences with prior counselors. I had painted this picture that counselors were all the same, “so how does that make you feel, Johnny?” with no real truth or life experience behind them, just reenacting what they have read in a book or been taught in school. Something different caught my attention with Danica, so I gave her a chance and I’m glad that I did for many reasons. Not just anyone can truly be a counselor from the heart. It takes a special kind of person, someone who has experienced life both bad and good, someone with a big heart, someone with values, someone who has taken all they have experienced and uses it to truly help others. Now I don’t know the life she has lived or what she’s been through, but she still fights the battles just as the rest of us do every day.  

I would highly recommend Danica Yates for your counseling. 

 - BB

I came to Danica with an assortment of problems that I needed to work on, initially I was very hesitant to even come to therapy, as I had been in and out of it for most of my life and never was able to actually get to the root cause and deal with things in a healthy and non-destructive manner. Together we came up with a plan of attack. She allowed me to go at my own pace and never pressured me to rush through. I was able to work through almost 30 years of anger, resentment, and disappointment with her help. I would recommend her to anyone. 

- KW

When I first came here [to chemical dependency treatment] I thought, “I’m not going to open up to her.” I was scared to talk about all the shit that’s happened to me. But Danica was so safe, she was so kind hearted and I could tell she really wanted to help me so I learned to trust her.  After being with Danica, I have hope now that’s it’s possible to achieve your dreams. 

- JS

Danica does not sugar coat a lot of things, helping me like none of my other therapists ever had. She acknowledged my mental health for what it was, then she immediately said, “what are you going to do about it?” not letting it be an excuse for not being better. She validated where I was coming from and then pushed me where I needed to go.  

-BB

I highly recommend Danica as a counselor. I knew I needed help and I was ready to change my life for the better. Danica has helped me through so many obstacles. She knows how to help, and since going to her for guidance, support and advice, I feel a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. 

- HS

Danica Yates is the most connected, tuned-in riding professional I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Danica has a way of helping riders identify their feelings of fear or insecurity or tension or stress and use the horse as a mirror to work through those emotions.  I have watched her work with everyone from small children to seasoned riders and every one of them came away not only a better rider but a happier person.  

She has a strong character, is loved by all she meets, and is one of those seemingly few truly good people you meet in life.  

- Erin Bolster, horse riding student 

Danica is a good person with integrity, honesty and compassion. She’s a rare find in the horse world  

What I most appreciate about taking lessons with Danica is her ability to pinpoint exactly what needs to be corrected with me to bring about the desired result with my horse. As I started to ride with Danica, it was like magic. 

Danica breaks it down like no other trainer ever had. It is simple, yet always effective. She communicates well, and also has a keen sense of building blocks for horse and rider. Her approach to each rider differs on the needs of horse and rider, but always goes back to the basic building blocks of good riding. 

- Jane Marsh, horse riding student