
A unique blend of Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness Techniques and the Nondual Philosophy to help you on the path towards wholeness.1 Column
I'm Dana Schmalenberg
Founder of Navigational Narratives
Before I became a therapist, I spent more than twenty years as a Hollywood screenwriter. I worked for major film studios and television networks with Academy Award nominees and creators like Stan Lee. It was a career most people would consider enviable, and for a long timeit felt like the right fit.
Then midlife arrived in a way I never saw coming — in the form of a personal shock that turned my sense of identity inside out. Everything I believed about where I came from, who I was, and what I thought I was building completely collapsed.
That unraveling became the turning point that led me toward a different kind of work, because the life I had built no longer matched the person I was becoming.
That experience shapes everything I do now. I work with high-achieving adults who are going through their own internal shift. My background as a writer informs the way I practice. I pay close attention to how people describe their lives, and I’m able to identify the hidden beliefs that are keeping them stuck. I use narrative therapy, cognitive approaches, neuroscience-informed tools, and non-dual philosophy, but underneath everything, my work is about loosening the tight identity you’ve had to hold.
The goal is for you to experience yourself with more space, ease, and connection — without needing to perform or prove anything.
My style is straightforward. I don’t sugarcoat, but I do create a non-reactive environment where you can fall apart a little without being judged, fixed, rushed, or managed.
If you’ve hit a point where the life you built no longer feels like your own, you’re not lost —you’re in transition. I’ve been through it myself, and I know how to guide people through it with clarity and calm.
If you’re ready to start, I’m here.
Dana Schmalenberg MS
Florida License #IMH26343

Navigating Your DNA Bombshell
Take a self-guided journey with interactive lessons.

1-on-1 Navigating
One on one sessions to help you dive deeper into the course "Navigating Your DNA Bombshell" and deal with your unique circumstances, accelerating your healing.


After 20 years of professional screenwriting, I decided to become a psychotherapist. I returned to graduate school and received a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health. I possess a unique combination of skills that can help you identify the "life scripts" you've created that may not be working for you and teach you how to "rewrite and rewire" them to take authorship of your life.
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