Meet DeAnna Meckling-Peruto, MS, NCC

DeAnna is a master’s level clinician that holds a Master of Science (MS) degree in Community and Trauma Counseling awarded from Thomas Jefferson University in 2023. During her time in graduate school, she pursued a specialization in Child Trauma and Play Therapy to cultivate the skills necessary to meet her clients where they are at the developmental level and to foster communication with younger clients through their primary language of play. She was initiated into her university’s chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (The International Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society); and designated a major portion of her academic course work on examining research on child and adolescent grief after the death of a caregiver, cross-cultural reports of mental health and intergenerational trauma, impacts of relational trauma and domestic violence, and analyzing studies on mental health presentations and developmental trauma in child and adolescent populations. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology from Temple University in 2018 with a minor in Cognitive Neuroscience. 

DeAnna completed her clinical internship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she provided counseling services to youth in the Community Violence and Trauma Support Program. In this role, she provided individual, trauma-informed counseling to youth on a weekly basis and acted as a co-facilitator in an adolescent group therapy program called Building Resilience After Violent Experiences (BRAVE). 

In her counseling practice, DeAnna takes an eclectic approach to client care that incorporates techniques and interventions from a variety of different therapeutic modalities to find an approach that best aligns with a person’s unique needs and goals for counseling.  Her primary counseling modalities include person-centered, trauma-focused, strengths-based, solution-focused, cognitive restructuring, emotional processing, attachment-focused, somatic releasing, and play therapy. She is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) through the Trauma Institute & Child Trauma Institute and has completed her Level 1 Animal Assisted Play Therapy® Training through the International Institute for Animal Assisted Play Therapy. Her clinical areas of expertise include complex trauma, stress management, depression, anxiety, neurodivergence, personality disorders, life transitions, grief and loss, attachment ruptures, codependency, relational concerns, and LGBTQI+. 

DeAnna understands that the therapeutic experience varies for everyone, and she aims to support clients to engage in treatment in a manner that suits their individual preferences. For those who prefer meeting in the office, she cultivates a safe, supportive, and sensory-friendly environment with various creative and expressive mediums for clients to utilize. For those who enjoy spending time outdoors, she offers nature-based approaches such as going for walks on our beautiful premises, grounding activities outdoors, or simply holding meetings in an isolated grassy space. Her office contains several play items and creative outlets such as sand tray, coloring and painting activities, board and card games, crafts, and more that are available to clients of any age. DeAnna also offers telehealth visits for those who would feel more comfortable participating in treatment from the privacy of their home. Please note that we do have therapy dogs at our office, and if you have any concerns, sensitivities, or allergies to pets please let us know if you are interested in scheduling. 

Outside of the therapy space, DeAnna enjoys aerial yoga, paddleboarding, hiking, spending time outside, fantasy books, video games, riding horses, going to the beach, animated shows, and hanging out with her dog Pickles.