About Dr. Qatana Samanen

“When I consider my four decades of experience as a psychologist, hypnotherapist, and marriage and couples counselor, I feel deep gratitude for the satisfaction of helping my clients create the lives and relationships that they long for and deserve. I feel privileged to be part of a process that empowers people to transform their lives for the better.”

Psychotherapist

My professional development began with graduate school at the University of Oregon, where I earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1978. During my graduate training, I focused on relationships: marital therapy, family therapy, and helping people through the difficult process of separation and divorce.
My first post-doctoral job was at the Boston University School of Medicine where, as an Assistant Professor of Psychology, I specialized in stress management and behavioral medicine – the treatment of medical problems, such as headache and hypertension, through behavioral interventions including relaxation training, hypnotherapy, and biofeedback.

For over 35 years I have been practicing hypnotherapy, which I find to be the most powerful and effective tool for bringing about positive change.

Couples Therapist – Marriage Counselor

During over forty years in private practice, I have deepened my expertise in relationship therapy. I was certified in 1988 in Imago Relationship Therapy©, the powerful and effective couples work developed by Harville Hendrix, author of the book, Getting the Love You Want.

Inner Wisdom and Interactive Imagery

I grew up like you probably did, with no awareness whatsoever of my own Inner Wisdom. For me, this changed dramatically and unexpectedly when I was about 30.

I was wrestling with a major life decision, plagued by doubt and uncertainty. Suddenly, the awareness came to me with absolute clarity – the choice I must make became apparent. With this certainty, coming from within, all doubt dropped away.

At that moment I experienced enormous relief. I knew the path I must take, but, even more importantly, I had discovered an inner resource I knew I could trust to guide me. Over the years, I’ve come to recognize the many ways that decision has shaped my life, ways I could never have imagined at the time. I am so grateful for having discovered this precious resource and for the opportunity to share it with others.

I came to Interactive Imagery with a great deal of resistance. I first learned of it from a trusted friend and mentor. When Mel, a highly skilled hypnotherapist, told me that Interactive Imagery was simply the most powerful and effective approach he had ever encountered, I thought he’d gone off the deep end. I couldn’t imagine giving it a try! However, through a set of unlikely circumstances, I ended up experiencing Interactive Imagery for myself. I was astonished to find it the most powerful therapeutic experience of my life. To put it simply, it knocked my socks off.

Since then, Interactive Imagery has been my own path of learning, healing, and growth, a deeply spiritual path. It is the most powerful, precise, efficient, and effective tool I know for helping my clients transform their lives for the better. Forty-five years later, I remain in awe of this process.

I live with my husband and our dog, Hadley, in Phoenixville, PA. I love taking walks and hiking, canoeing and kayaking, gardening, and playing with clay. and travel.