Deangie Davis, Psy.D., a psychotherapist at St. Joe’s Counseling and Psychological Services, got her first experience in the field long before coming to St. Joe’s.
“Growing up, I was always the person that peers and family could confide in, and they knew that I would not spread the information they told me,” Davis said. “I liked being there for others in that way.”
Davis joined CAPS in fall 2022, bringing experience from Rutgers University–Camden, Arcadia University and Swarthmore College.
Davis studied biology before switching to psychology due to her fascination with the brain. She knew she wanted to be a college counselor through the process of administering and writing up assessments for conditions such as ADHD and autism.
Davis said college is a particularly important time for counseling, as mental health issues can appear for the first time.
“I think counseling is definitely needed at St. Joe’s, more so just to help students along,” Davis said. “We’ve had a merger, so helping students adjust. For the students who had just begun college when the pandemic started, that was a huge period of turmoil.”
Davis said she tries to bring a holistic approach to her psychotherapy work at St. Joe’s, where she focuses on the interactions between mental health, physical health and social issues. Davis tries to work at the intersection of social justice and psychology.
“I’m very interested in something called integrated care,” Davis said. “It’s asking about medications and pharmacology and how some mental illnesses can cause physical issues and vice versa.”
Davis said she brings a social justice view to her work, focusing not just on what a person is going through but also on the systemic cause.
“Someone might say, ‘I’m having trouble getting to work.’ Then you break it down and ask, ‘What does it take for you to get to work?’” Davis said. “Maybe they have a long commute, or they have to take two buses, or they have a physical issue. I try to have an expanded worldview when I’m working with others and incorporate cultural factors.”
Thom Nailor, another psychotherapist at CAPS, praised Davis’ honesty and the sense of humor she brings to CAPS.
“I find her perspective helpful in that she often helps me think about a challenging situation creatively and with nuance,” Nailor said. “She’s very willing to work collaboratively and really cares, both about students and her coworkers.”
Victoria Marchiony, a friend of Davis’, said she first found Davis in 2020 through her Instagram content focusing on social issues before reaching out, and they eventually grew into close friends.
“She has this psychic ability to know when things aren’t good,” Marchiony said. “I’m a very distracted texter, I trail off in the middle of conversation sometimes, but she can somehow tell the difference when I’m a little depressed and struggling, and she always reaches out and just has a gentle, ‘Hey, how you doing?’”
Marchiony added that she admires how dedicated and giving Davis is in her daily life.
“She has a really quiet power,” Marchiony said. “She is really funny and has a lot of personality, but she is, in some ways, reserved and calm, and her presence is just so powerful and thoughtful.”
