30 years of adoption support experience
insert statement about experience and or/ philosophy
Danya Kumar, LPC
Dayna Kumar has been working in private practice since 2014. Prior to this Dayna provided in-home psychotherapy in the state of Wisconsin and Virginia. Dayna is a board approved supervisor, a consultant in Eye Movement Desentization and Reprocessing (EMDR), serves on Lynchburg’s maternal mental health coalition, and is a founding member of Central Virginia India Adoption Group. Dayna is a site lead and clinical documentation expert for Virginia Family Therapy.
Dayna is certified as an Expert Witness for trauma therapy, sexual and physical abuse and domestic violence in the 16th District Juvenile and Domestic Court system in Virginia. Dayna holds multiple professional certifications in areas such as: attachment narratives, EMDR, sexual assault advocacy and trauma therapy. Dayna’s upcoming achievements include becoming a polyvagal practitioner and a DARe certified clinician. The DARE program will specialize Dayna in somatic experiencing interventions that target specific attachment adaptation styles. Dayna is an ally to LBGTQ+ and BIPOC persons.
Dayna has a strong compassion and commitment to connect parents, through adoption, to resources and trainings from skilled professionals in the fields of trauma and attachment work. Dayna has been able to utilize her professional experience in her personal life with her adoption with her son from India, as well as her other son that is 3 months older, and her spouse. Although she’s spent over 15 years working in the field of attachment and trauma work, she couldn’t quite comprehend how challenging her own journey would be back from her son’s Special Adoption Agency (SAA) in India, on Christmas Eve of 2021. Also, the amount of security she’d provide for her husband as he walked back onto a SAA 34 years after he left his “nursery” in Calcutta, through adoption.
Thistle Newcomb, LPC
Thistle Newcomb has over 25 years of experiencing working with families of all dynamics. She has specific experience in the domestic foster care/adoption system from being a social worker and supervisor for social services. Thistle has additional clinical expertise working with international adopted children and their families in a private practice setting during all stages of pre and post adoption. Specific interests include emotional regulation, resolving trauma, grief/loss that accompanies the adoption process, and stress reduction. Thistle is trained in several modalities such as EMDR (Consultant), Internal Family Systems, Somatic Interventions, and is well versed in Complex Developmental Trauma for clients aged infants to grandparents. Thistle has been certified as an Expert Witness in Trauma in the 16th District Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court system in Virginia.
In addition to being a founding partner of Three Rivers Adoption Support, she is a founding partner of Riverbend Counseling Group, a Trainer and Supervisor at Riverbend Integrative Trauma Treatment, and a Supervisor at Counseling Alliance of Virginia. Thistle is an ally for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC persons. She resides in Virginia with a husband, a teen son, a tween daughter, and cats.
Lindy Swimm, LCSW
Lindy has over 40 years of clinical experience working with children, adolescents, adults and families. She has a passion for blending soundly researched neurobiologically based interventions and expressive arts when working with all ages of individuals. Lindy has extensive experience working with individuals who have been adopted, both domestically and internationally and present as with complex challenging behaviors. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with many community social systems to conceptualize the treatment needs of adults, children, and families who have been involved with the foster care system and domestic and international adoption agencies. She is dedicated to bringing an Integrative Trauma Treatment model to her work and training and supervision of new therapists.
Lindy is a Certified Consultant in EMDR, certified in the Parent-Child Integrative Model through The Attachment Trauma Center of Nebraska, Certified Trauma Play Therapist, Certification in Coding through the Mary Ainsworth Circle of Security Training, Adoption training for Clinical Competency, and certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Lindy has completed her first year of a two-year Pre and Peri Natal study course. Lindy Has won several awards and grants for her work. Among them include Adoption Advocate of the Year through Charlottesville and Albemarle, Va. DSS, Domestic Violence curriculum grant through the Department of Social Services, Richmond VA, and Victim Rights Awards awarded by the Justice Department in Leesburg, VA.
In addition to being a founding partner of Three Rivers Adoption Support, she is a founding partner of Riverbend Counseling Group and a Trainer and Supervisor at Riverbend Integrative Trauma Treatment. Lindy is an ally for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC persons. She resides in Virginia with her spouse, daughter, four horses, three dogs, and two cats.