Meet Our Faculty & Administration
Our faculty & administration consists of therapists with a wide range of specialties, licenses, and experience. Faculty members teach courses and supervise our student therapists.
At DFI, our student therapists are a mix of graduate students in their final year of school and post-graduate students who are licensed or working towards licensure. These students see clients, take courses, and attend rigorous supervision in the pursuit of becoming the best therapist possible and receiving their certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy. All of our student therapists are supervised by the highest quality supervisors and are eager to serve the Denver community.
The DFI Administration
Emily Dorn
Emily has been involved in the DFI community since 2015 as a student, Board member, Board chair, and currently as the Executive Director. Prior to entering the field of mental health, Emily spent 12 years in public education and nonprofit leadership as a special education and general education teacher, administrator, and systems leader. Most recently, Emily led the External Relations team for Rocky Mountain Prep, a growing network of elementary schools in Denver and Aurora. After graduating from DFI, Emily opened a private practice and joined the PASS Center as a therapist specializing in attachment and post-adoptive support for families. Emily holds a master’s degree from Loyola Marymount University and a certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy from Denver Family Institute.
The best way to spend a day: Traveling, adventuring, or exploring with no particular agenda or destination
Susan Terkhorn
Director of Student Services &
Tenant Representative (South Office)
Susan is a licensed marriage and family therapist and sex and relationship therapist in private practice. As a proud alumni of both Denver Family Institute and the University of Northern Colorado she is also excited to support future couple and family therapists through her role as Director of Student Services. Additionally, she is currently a group facilitator for the WINGS foundation. Prior to her work in the field of mental health, Susan received an MA in Art History from NYU and worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was a jewelry designer, a restaurant owner and am the mother to three amazing children.
Why I love DFI: DFI is a special place because it allowed me to shine, to be authentically me and to feel accepted! I truly became the person and therapist I am today through the nurturing and supportive DFI community.
Heather Tousignant-Stanton
Program Director
Heather is a DFI alum having graduated in 2012. She teaches and supervises at DFI, and is proud to be the Program Director. Heather holds an MSW from the University of Denver. She has over 10 years of experience in the field, including community mental health, work at the Denver County Jail, and the Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado. She is the owner and therapist of her private practice “Affirming Psychotherapy LLC,” and volunteers at Belly Bliss, an agency that supports pregnant and new parents.
Why I love DFI: Students receive a therapeutic education that goes the extra mile! Students present live and taped cases to supervisors, and work in a creative space to explore different facets of marriage and family therapy. I love how our students, faculty, and staff think of therapy experimentally. This creates such an innovative and insightful environment!
Gwen Bonilla
Clinic & Internship Director
Gwen graduated from DFI in 2019. She is so proud to continue to be a part of the community as the Internship and Clinic Director. In addition to her work at DFI, Gwen works as a clinician with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She specializes in narrative and experiential therapies and developed a model for therapy, Touching Stories, specifically designed for people with moderate to severe developmental disabilities. When not working or telling stories, Gwen loves cooking, camping, hiking, and traveling.
One book I recommend: As a narrative therapist, I have to recommend The Uses of Enchantment, by Bruno Bettelheim.