Dan Gilner is one of those rare individuals whose heart and mind align perfectly with his work. I’ve had the good fortune to interact with Dan and watch him help people facing a wide range of difficult challenges resulting from meditation-related adverse experiences, including sleep disturbances, obsessive compulsive experiences, and existential terror. He has the ability to instantly create a safe place for clients, and he has a heart full of love for those who are suffering.
Dan knows the lay of the land of trauma from first-hand experience, and he brings that experience to bear through a combination of heart-centered listening and empathetic reflection. Having spent much of his life in meditation centers and communities, Dan is uniquely qualified to help meditators facing difficult challenges. He knows when to listen, when to speak, when to intervene, and perhaps most importantly, how to help clients understand their own dilemmas and maintain hope during the healing process. Highly, highly recommended.
- Doug Taylor, Mental Health & Relationship Consultant
I worked with Dan for a few years, both in groups and individually. I always found him to be endlessly kind, patient, and tactful. He makes it a point to not only make space for everyone but to actively work to include everyone in the conversation. He is careful and intentional in his compassion, and it applies to everyone without judgement. Kindness, compassion, and empathy, have been his core values for years and he continues to put active work into growing these qualities in himself and share them with others. He’s truly genuine and real in who he is and it shows up crystal clear in the work he does.
- Sasha Gesmer, Peer Supporter
We are grateful for all the time you have dedicated to working one-on-one and in groups with the clients of Cheetah House, the meditators-in-distress who Cheetah House was created to serve. You are a phenomenal clinician and have already had life-changing impacts on so many people.
- Cheetah House Board of Directors: Dr. Willoughby Britton, Dr. Jared Lindahl, Rosy Metcalfe. Read the full letter here.
I had the privilege of working with Dan, while being on boarded as a Peer Supporter at Cheetah House. Dan was the Head of the Care Team when I joined. He welcomed me with his warm nature and offered so much of his time, expertise and heart to support all of us in our training. I have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from clients who have worked with Dan. They speak about his natural compassionate nature and his kindness, especially as it relates to obsessive compulsive experiences and adverse meditation events. I highly recommend Dan to any meditator in distress and beyond that - for anybody needing a compassionate, caring and kind human to bear witness to their story and walk a path of healing with then.
- Mandy Johnson, Coach, Facilitator, and Peer Supporter.
In a world where more and more folks are finding themselves dysregulated from meditation practices and guided apps, the value of Dan's expertise is indescribable. Dan Gilner is an expert of facilitating the understanding of, and healing from, Meditation Related Adverse Effects. Dan draws upon his own personal experiences, his educational training, and his years of providing care to meditators-in-distress at Cheetah House to help those who are suffering. Having been on the receiving end of Dan's care, I want to highlight his ability to come along-side in the darkness and work together on finding what is healing. Like a good friend, Dan holds space and a steady compassion for those he works with. Not just "like a good friend", he is a good friend - which is often what we really need when we are struggling most.
- Scott Lippitt, Peer Supporter
When I started meditating I almost immediately began sleeping better and feeling more resilient and less reactive in daily life. But after 12 years or so of fairly mundane daily sitting - just following the breath and feeling a gradual reduction in the internal noise level for thirty minutes - I suddenly found myself in a disturbing and dark place. Half in and half out of some sort of meditation related transition in my world view which was accompanied by genuine fear and a lot of mental/emotional discomfort.
Having developed my practice only through apps, podcasts and books, and never having been part of any sort of group, I had no idea where to turn for support.
When I was lucky enough to contact Dan he was the first person who did not respond with something along the lines of "these experiences are quite common and nothing to worry about". He not only guided me through the difficulties I was struggling with at the time but also helped me to a reach a really positive outcome beyond that.
Like many accomplished people he made it seem like nothing special, just a bit of discussion and the introduction of some compassion practices applied over a limited number of sessions, but the improvement was definitive and I often feel the results of his efforts continuing to speak for themselves.
- Keith Preston