Meg Dorfner, PsyD

Training: Dr. Meg Dorfner earned her degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Youth Opportunity Center, an adolescent residential treatment facility with adjoined juvenile detention center, in Muncie, Indiana. She is currently completing her Postdoctoral Fellowship at Genesee Valley Institute of Psychology specializing in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and trauma in children and adolescents.

Clinical Expertise: Dr. Dorfner has training experience in a variety of different clinical settings (e.g., community mental health centers, private practices, residential treatment facilities, and juvenile detention centers) that has allowed her to work with an assortment of different presenting concerns. Dr. Dorfner’s primary clinical interests include childhood trauma, sexual trauma, and emotion dysregulation in adolescents and young adults. She is also passionate about working with youth involved in the juvenile legal system. Dr. Dorfner has advanced training in several evidence-based treatments including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT), Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC) framework, Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She is also trained in Child-Centered Play Therapy.

At GVP, Dr. Dorfner provides Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Comprehensive DBT, CBT for anxiety and depression, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Approach: Dr. Dorfner finds it important to meet the client where they are through innate empathy and unconditional positive regard. She believes a strong, therapeutic relationship characterized by safety and security with a focus on the client’s unique strengths and attributes best facilitates client change and empowerment. She values a therapeutic relationship that allows for humor and empathy as well as hard work and commitment to change.

Diversity and Inclusion: Dr. Dorfner values being a multiculturally competent clinician and recognizes that this requires a life dedicated to continual growth and education on diversity. This requires actively listening to individuals with identities different than her own, having an open-minded attitude, having difficult conversations, and engaging in ongoing self-reflection. She believes it is important to recognize the socio-cultural identities that interact with life experiences and how people view therapy.

Research: Dr. Dorfner’s research focuses on the utilization and effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy (AAT). She primarily studies how the animal is used in the therapy process and the potential mechanisms which make AAT effective, particularly for those clients who have experienced significant trauma, such as childhood sexual abuse. She is also interested in the link between childhood attachment disruptions, emotion dysregulation, and trauma symptomatology.

Ages: Dr. Dorfner works with children as young as 5, adolescents, and young adults up to age 25.