About Me

WELCOME. COME AS YOU ARE.

A Little More About Me

I’m Devon DuBois, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#87052), native San Diegan, and someone who has been endlessly curious about people and relationships for most of my life.

I’ve been a therapist for more than 16 years, and one of the things I still love most about this work is that no two people and no two relationships are quite the same. I can bring years of training, theory, and experience into the room, but I still get to be curious about the person sitting in front of me.

I’m also a person outside of the therapy room. I love live music, travel, art and culture, dogs, really good cheese, and making pasta from scratch when I have the patience for it. I grew up in San Diego with some childhood years spent in Hawaii, and connection to people, places, music, food, and community has always mattered to me.

As a therapist, I’m warm, engaged, curious, and pretty human. I’ll take you seriously without making every moment serious. I’ll notice patterns, ask questions, challenge you when it might be useful, and laugh with you when the moment calls for it.

You don’t need a therapist who performs “therapist” particularly well. You need someone you can actually do meaningful work with. That’s the kind of relationship I try to create.

“I am an EMDR nerd, love-and-bonding specialist, & empath/helper. I work with humans who feel a lot (hi, same) and want more connection, less chaos, and maybe fewer emotional plot twists before bed. I help couples make sense of big feelings and stop relationship spirals in their tracks; all through the magic of EFT (and a little humor). I also work with people to release what their bodies have been carrying for too long; and together, we turn down the volume on old wounds using EMDR. Therapist by day; mama, kitchen experimenter, and vinyl vibe curator by night. I cook with love, listen in analog, and always stop to pet the dog.”

— Devon DuBois

The Human Side of the Work

People come to therapy for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes something has clearly happened. Sometimes a relationship has become painful or distant. And sometimes there’s simply a sense of, “I don’t really feel like myself right now.”

I’m interested in what’s underneath that. What happened? What have you learned to do to get through difficult things? What keeps showing up even when you understand it intellectually? And what might become possible if you didn’t have to respond in quite the same way anymore?

I work with individuals and couples, and while the work looks different depending on who is in the room, I don’t see people as problems to be fixed. I’m interested in patterns, emotional experience, relationships, and the ways we adapt to what life has asked of us.

And yes, sweatpants are still completely acceptable.

Recently featured in SDVoyager- find the story here

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Recently featured in SDVoyager- find the story here 〰️

My Personal Journey

I am a San Diego native, interested in helping people find their way back to one another. I welcome adventure. Music, travel, and animals bring me joy. I love a good story- stories from the heart- stories that bring me to my knees- and stories that make me laugh. I believe that kindness, empathy, and hope are the heartbeat of the soul.

I first experienced therapy from the other side of the room when I was 16.

At the time, I was overwhelmed by feelings I didn’t entirely understand and moving through some difficult transitions. I remember wondering why I couldn’t just make myself feel differently and feeling pretty scared by how much was happening internally.

Eventually, I asked for help outside of my family and friends, and I began seeing a therapist.

That experience stayed with me. Not because therapy magically made difficult things disappear, but because I experienced what it was like to have another person help me make sense of something I couldn’t quite make sense of on my own. I learned that needing other people wasn’t evidence that I wasn’t capable. Connection was part of how we get through hard things.

Years later, when I became a therapist myself, I carried that experience with me. I knew what it was like to sit in the other chair — to feel vulnerable, uncertain, and hopeful that the person across from you might understand something you’re still trying to understand yourself.

Of course, my clinical training has shaped me enormously since then. But being a client first taught me something training alone couldn’t: what it feels like to trust another person with the parts of your life that are difficult to put into words.

That continues to matter to me every time someone trusts me enough to do the same.

My Professional Journey

I entered graduate school in 2010, and during my first quarter I was introduced to Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Something about the model immediately made sense to me.

Not long after, I attended my first EFT Externship and had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Sue Johnson, one of the primary developers of EFT. I was captivated by the way she talked about attachment: that we are wired to need one another, that our closest relationships shape how we experience safety, and that secure connection can actually give us greater freedom to move through the world.

I kept learning.

What began as an early interest became years of training, supervision, clinical practice, and eventually certification as an ICEEFT Certified EFT Therapist and Supervisor. EFT continues to shape my work with couples and the way I understand relationships.

Years later, my clinical work expanded into EMDR Therapy. I was drawn to its ability to work directly with experiences that can remain emotionally present long after they are over. As my training deepened, I became especially interested in Relational EMDR Therapy® (R-EMDR) and the role of attachment, attunement, and the therapeutic relationship within trauma work.

Today, I am an EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and EMDRIA Approved Consultant-in-Training™, and I continue advanced training and consultation through the Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy.

I still consider myself a student of both models. The more I learn, the more interesting the work becomes.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

EFT is the primary model I use in my work with couples. It is an evidence-based, attachment-focused, experiential approach that helps us understand and change the emotional patterns that organize relationship distress.

Learn more about EFT

EMDR & Relational EMDR Therapy®

EMDR and R-EMDR are central to my individual work, particularly when past experiences continue to shape present-day emotions, beliefs, relationships, or reactions.

Learn more about EMDR & R-EMDR

Experience

(Feel free to hit the snooze button.)

I’ve been practicing as a therapist for more than 16 years, with much of my professional training and clinical work centered around attachment, relationships, trauma, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and EMDR Therapy.

My relationship with EFT began early in my career. I spent five years working with TRI-EFT, the Training and Research Institute for Emotionally Focused Therapy in San Diego, where I supported the clinic and helped coordinate EFT trainings throughout California, Arizona, and Colorado. Over the years, I continued extensive EFT training, supervision, and clinical practice and became an ICEEFT Certified EFT Therapist and Supervisor.

My EMDR training has become an equally important part of my professional work. I am an EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and EMDRIA Approved Consultant-in-Training™. I also serve as faculty with the Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy®, where I am a Facilitator-in-Training and continue advanced study and consultation in Relational EMDR Therapy®.

In addition to clinical work, I provide EFT supervision and consultation and EMDR consultation to other therapists. I’ve also presented for organizations including the United States Navy, the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), MOPS, and the National Charity League (NCL).

Earlier in my career, I served on the San Diego Center for EFT committee in a marketing and public relations role.

I’ve had the opportunity to learn from some extraordinary clinicians over the years, and I still take ongoing training seriously. Sixteen years in, I’m probably more curious about this work than I was when I started.

CONNECT WITH ME

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Specialty Training and Experience

Certified Emotionally Focused (EFCT/EFFT/EFIT) Therapist- recognized by The International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT); by way of the original ICEEFT Certification track & standards
Certified EFT (EFCT/EFFT/EFIT) Supervisor- recognized by ICEEFT
EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ - recognized by EMDRIA- The EMDR International Association
EMDRIA Approved Consultant-in-Training™ under the supervision of Deany Laliotis with the Center for Excellence in EMDR
Facilitator-in-Training with the Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy®, as well as a faculty member.
Over 3,000 clinical hours under supervision by multiple EFT supervisors and trainers
EFT TRIAGE CONFERENCE: Managing the Bleedouts in Couple and Family Therapy 2026: 7/30/26-8/1/26
2026 EMDRIA Conference in Anaheim, CA: 8/1/26-08/23/26
EFIT Essentials with Sue Johnson and Leanne Campbell, 2024
Mastering Skills and Overcoming Challenges in EFIT: A Consultation Process with Sue Johnson and Leanne Campbell, 2024
Emotionally Focused Therapy, Externship, 2011
Emotionally Focused Therapy, Externship, 2012
Emotionally Focused Therapy, Core Skills, Modules 1-5, 2012
Emotionally Focused Therapy, Core Skills, Modules 1-4, 2014
Completed 46 CE hours and 10.5 case consultation hours of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Basic Training with Master Trainer, Deany Laliotis. Exceeds EMDRIA’s requirements with more hours dedicated to supervised practice sessions and case consultation (2022)
The Dance of Attachment: An Introduction to Relational EMDR Therapy®, Advanced Clinical R-EMDR course, with Deany Laliotis; 18 CE hours (2026)
Healing the Wounds of Attachment and Rebuilding Self, Advanced Clinical EMDR course, with Deany Laliotis; (2023)
The Craft of EMDR: Building on the Basics; EMDR Therapy Intermediate Course with Deany Laliotis - 32.50 hours (2023)
Thinking AIP and Using EMDR: An Advanced Interactive Course - Presented by Deany Laliotis, LICSW- 12 hours (2025)
Relational EMDR Therapy: Examining the Self of the Therapist - Presented by Deany Laliotis, LICSW- 18 hours (2025); Virtually Presented by Deany Laliotis, LICSW
G-TEP: Working With One or More Clients When Trauma Hits - with Renee Eddy (2025)
Broken Bonds: Healing Attachment Injuries with EFT (2011)
EFFT Essentials Emotionally Focused Family Therapy with Gail Palmer and Jim Furrow (2025)
Mastering Skills and Overcoming Challenges in EFFT: A Consultation Process with Gail Palmer and Jim Furrow (2025)
EFT Supervision Course with Lisa Palmer-Olsen, George Faller, & Marlene Best (01/2024)
Supervision of Supervision Group for EFT with Lisa Palmer-Olsen, Jim Furrow, & Marlene Best (2023-present)
EFT in Action Training
Mastering first sessions with EFT
Alt-Sexuality, Kink, and Ethical non-monogamous relationship training
Critical Issues in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CICAMH) Conference
Somatic Experiencing (SE) with Dr. Peter Levine
R-EMDR Master Certification Group with the Center for Excellence (2024-present)
Certified PREPARE-ENRICH Instructor & Facilitator (Couples marriage preparation and enrichment), (2013)
Worked at the Training and Research Institute for Emotionally Focused Therapy in San Diego (2010-2015)
A Soulful Warrior’s six session Journey to Transformation through AEDP with Jerry Lamagna (2020)
Navy SEAL Foundation Impact Forum (2018, 2019)

“Normalize the Couch”

Normalize the couch is my way of dismantling the stigma around psychotherapy and emotional support. It’s a reminder that needing help doesn’t mean something is wrong with you; it means you’re choosing not to white-knuckle your way through life; and instead leaning into the hard parts with hope that healing is possible. The couch isn’t a symbol of failure; it’s a place for reflection, honesty, repair, and growth. By normalizing talking about what’s hard and seeking support, we make space for healing without shame. It’s a pushback against the idea that strength means handling it alone.