Danielle Kapi’olani Larin, LMFT
Pronouns: She/They
Danielle is a Native Hawaiian, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in California (CA LMFT 103879) and Florida (MT4948).
She earned her Bachelor’s degree from UC Riverside and her Master’s in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Marriage & Family Therapy from Pepperdine University. Danielle’s clinical background is diverse, having spent most of her career in community mental health settings supporting humans with a variety of needs. She has worked closely with system-impacted youth, gang-affiliated teens, undocumented families, immigration trauma and racial trauma.
Danielle has trained with Postpartum Support International and The Seleni Institute to support communities of color in the perinatal & postpartum phase. She has trained under pioneers and experts in the field like, Dr. Shoshana Bennet, PhD, Dr. Katayune Kaeni, PsyD, and Dr. Marissa Long, PhD. She most recently supported BIPOC student-parents navigating family planning, birth trauma, and child loss. She received certification as a Lactation Education Specialist from BreastfeedLA in 2020. She has educated parents on various aspects of breastfeeding, including it’s advantages, challenges, strategies to overcoming barriers and connecting to community resources.
As a result, Danielle has extensive experience with BIPOC communities and identifies as a decolonizing practitioner and culturist. Her practice leans heavily into trauma-informed care that centers client narratives from cultural identities and personal values. Passionate about Ho’okaulike or social justice, Danielle uses an intersectional framework that holds space for the exploration around the impacts of colonization, systemic racism, exploitation, and capitalism.
She holds Western certification as an Advanced Clinical Trauma Specialist with Trauma Institute International. She has been granted the title of Historical Trauma Specialist through the Culture & Indigenous Wellness Academy by Mother Iya Wekenon Affo, Chief in the village of Ouidah and High Priestess in the Yoruba tradition. Danielle is a Somatic EMDR practitioner having trained under Dr. Arielle Schwartz and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk.
Danielle descends from Hawaiian Kahunas (Kākalaleo, Kilolani, and La’au Lapa’au). Ka Malama ‘aina is a value she holds dear and spent 2 years working to clear dried brush, overgrowth, and trash from the deeply neglected Haleki’i-Pihana Heiau in Wailuku, Maui. She is collaborating with the Maui Medic Healers Hui as a mental health consultant for Lāhainā Fire survivors. She recently graduated from the University of Hawaii - West O’ahu where she studied Hawaiian & Indigenous Health and Healing. She plans to pursue a PhD in Public Health to develop, promote, and advocate for culturally-grounded trauma informed practices, aiming to close the gap between traditional medicine and western medicine.
Danielle’s style of culturally centered care has brought individuals and couples from six out of seven continents to her healing. She has provided individual, couple, family, and group therapy. At the present, her focus is on providing individual treatment to BIPOC communities looking to begin their journey of healing from historical, intergenerational, and/or racial traumatic stress.
From Danielle
Aloha e komo mai. O Kapi’olani ko’u inoa. If you’re here, then it’s for a reason. I truly believe that those I am meant to work with, find me.
I believe that to understand ourselves, we must understand our individual, familial, cultural, and collective history. In the tapestry of life, the threads connect and weave a masterpiece. In some cases, we are the architect, choosing the threads and the design. In others moments, we are bystanders in the cultural legacy of our ancestors - those known and unknown.
What I offer my clients is space to wrestle with and explore the stories of their life. The pain of interpersonal, generational, and collective narratives can leave us feeling anxious, depressed, disconnected from self and others. It can cause us to feel guilt, shame, anger, and disappointment. It can leave us questioning our value and our purpose, sabotaging our concept of worth. That pain further perpetuates the belief that we are broken or unloveable. Additionally, we see the body and spirit begin to bend under that pressure resulting in panic attacks, headaches, gastrointestinal discomfort, physical pain, sleep disturbances and more.
Together, we will learn about the stories from the past and present that are impacting the vision of the future you desire. Restoring voice and agency, gives us the power to consider a life we’ve never trusted could be for us. From there, I will walk with you to uncover how your body and mind interpret danger and begin the intentional process of traumatic recovery. We will uncover tangible and intangible resources, areas of balance, and areas if disharmony. We will wrestle challenging “cultural absolutes”, disrupt unhealthy patterns of functioning, and determine familial allies that will support your journey.
We are not entitled to comfort. Our ancestors knew pain and discomfort were part of being alive. In those moments, of trial and challenge, we can receive wisdom and skills to influence our life while shifting the spaces that we occupy. In these moments we can make “Pono” - Be in Balance with all things - something we must do constantly. In that way trauma recovery is a daily decision to live intentionally, even when it hurts.
My ancestors have gifted me a keen mind with the capacity to unravel the threads of life. With these same threads, you will learn to reclaim control and spin the tapestry of your life. My style is not for the faint of heart. It has been a point of controversy for white systems I occupy. It is direct. It is unique. It is bold. It is also warm, supportive, consistent, and filled with respect. Let’s get to work.
My daughter and I representing her Halau Hula at the LA County Fair