William G. Danton, Ph.D., ABPP
Diplomate, American Board of Professional Psychology
Dr. Danton is the former Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System and is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He holds a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology with the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). He is past president of the Nevada State Psychological Association and 2001 recipient of the Outstanding Psychologist (James Mikawa Award) from the Nevada State Psychological Association. Dr. Danton specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy and hypnosis and is an Approved Consultant with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. He specializes in the treatment of anxiety, depression, phobias, and smoking.
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ClinicAD
6490 S. McCarran
Suite 28, Building D-1
Reno, NV 89509
Phone: (775) 826-6218
Fax: (775) 826-6271
Born: Los Angeles, California, October 1, 1943. Married, two children.
Educational History
Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California. 9/61 - 1/66, A.A.
Major Area: Psychology
California State University, Northridge, California. 2/66 - 6/68, B.A.
Major Area: Psychology
University of Houston, Houston, Texas. 9/71 - 8/74, M.A.
Major Area: Clinical Psychology
University of Houston, Houston, Texas. 8/74 - 8/75, Ph.D.
Dissertation: A figure-ground model of cognitive balance
Major Area: Clinical Psychology
Licensure
1976 California License PL 4851
1977 Nevada License PSY 054
Employment Experience
May 2003-
Present Clinical Director, Dynamic Resource Group. Reno, NV. Private practice. Clinical oversight and program design for an employee assistance and general behavioral services organization in Reno, NV. Dynamic Resource Group is a “bundled network” that provides a variety of ancillary services, such as wellness and stress assessment in addition to traditional counseling.
May 1997-
May 2003 Associate Chief of Staff, Mental Health Service Line, Department of Veterans Affairs Sierra Nevada Health Care Network, Reno, Nevada. Supervised 45 employees of the Mental Health Service Line. MH Service Line is the product of the reorganization of Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Work, and Chaplain services. Services included inpatient and outpatient mental health services, a regional employee assistance program, a day treatment program, a work-training program, and a medical primary care team. Program was named one of 12 “Innovative Programs” by DVA.
May 1997-
Present Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, School of Medicine.
Apr 1985- Chief, Psychology Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center
May 1997 Reno, Nevada.
Associate Professor Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, School of Medicine.
Nov 1984- Acting Chief, Psychology Service, Veterans Administration Medical
Apr 1985 Center, Reno, Nevada.
Aug 1975- Coordinator, Mental Hygiene Clinic, Veterans Administration Medical
Nov 1984 Center, 1000 Locust Street, Reno, Nevada.
Dec 1976- Private Practice, South Lake Tahoe, California,
Present Administrator and service provider for Employee Assistance Program, City of South Lake Tahoe (since 1983).
Sep 1978- Private Practice, 1350 Haskell Street, Reno, Nevada.
Present
Mar-Sep Private Practice, Nims Associates, 100 North Arlington, Suite 200,
1978 Reno, Nevada.
Jun 1974- San Francisco Veterans Administration Hospital, 42nd and Clement
Jun 1975 Sts., San Francisco, California: Psychology trainee
Jun 1973 Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences, 1300 Moursund Avenue, Houston, Texas
Program co-designer and clinical Staff, Ingrando Residential Growth Center for Adolescents.
1972 University
of Houston, Houston, Texas
Duties: Co-trainer
T-Group lab for
University of Houston Law Students and Rice University
Architecture Students.
Summer Penny
Lane, Van Nuys, California; California State University,
1971 Northridge, California
Duties: Assistant Group Trainer for a human relations
training class; Assistant
Group Trainer for a community
workshop and for deaf adults; Volunteer ed at Penny Lane
counseling delinquent girls.
1968-1971 United States Navy, Active Duty
1968 Navy Officer Candidate School, Newport, R. I.
1969 U. S. Navy School of Deep Sea Diving, Washington, D.
C.
Duties: Ship's Salvage Officer (Primary); Line Supply
Officer (Secondary); Communications/Cryptographics;
Electronics Maintenance Officer; Education-Safety Officer;
one tour in Vietnam.
1967-1968 San Fernando Valley State Child Study Center
Duties: Research assistant (Work-Study Program) to Dr.
Samuel Pinneau; Programmer statistical analysis programs
(Fortran IV; IBM 360/20); developed an independent study
project
Other Professional Training
Mar-Apr Advanced Clinical Biofeedback & Case Studies in
Biofeedback.
1975 Biofeedback Institute of San Francisco, California
Dec 16-20 Hypnotherapy supervision with Milton Erickson, M.
D.,
1977 Phoenix, Arizona
Dec 4-9 International Congress on Ericksonian Approaches to
Hypnosis and psychotherapy, Phoenix, AZ.
Aug 22-27 International Congress on Hypnosis and
Psychosomatic Medicine
1982 (with Advanced Hypnotherapy Workshop), 32.5 hours,
Glasgow,
Scotland
Dec 4-12 The Fourth Scientific Meeting of the Pacific Rim
Psychiatric Association:
1988 Transcultural Mental Health; 18 hours; Hong Kong
Plus a variety of continuing educational experiences
including hypnosis, biofeedback, psychopharmacology,
P.T.S.D. and family therapy.
Consultation
1972-1973 Who Cares? A Houston drug crisis intervention
organization. Psychologist on a drug crisis intervention
team for various area rock concerts, etc.
1973 Teenline. A weekly youth-oriented problem column in
The Houston Post. Consultant.
1974-1975 Comprehensive Group Practice, San Francisco
Veterans Administration Hospital (a pilot primary care
program). Psychological Consultant.
1976 Nevada Lung Association, Reno, Nevada. Consultation
and program design for a Stop-Smoking Program.
Sep-Dec Disabled American Veterans Vietnam Veterans
Outreach Program Program
1980 design, implementation.
Dec 1980- Veterans Administration Vietnam Outreach Center,
Reno, Nevada.
1999 Clinical supervision of team leader, weekly case
conferences with staff.
May 1981 Veterans Administration, Content Expert, Task
Force for Job Analysis for Psychology (SFVAMC).
May 1982 Veterans Administration, Content Expert, for
production of mediated package on Management of the Violent
Patient: Words Away
from Violence (Salt Lake
City, IRMEC). Content Expert for mediated package on
suicide: The
Prevention of Suicide, VAMC, St.
Louis, MO--Winner of Health Sciences Television, “Best of
Show”, Elmer Friman Award.
July 1984- Psychological Consultation for City of South
Lake Tahoe; Consultation to
present City Council and Department Heads (special emphasis
on Police and Fire Departments).
Aug-Sep 1984 Consultant/interviewer for Veterans
Administration Office of
Program Planning and Evaluations Client Impact Study,
Vietnam Veterans Outreach Program (Washington, D.C.).
Present Reviewer for American
Family Physician.
Teaching
1. Community
lectures and local media presentations on hypnosis, stress
reduction, weight loss, smoking control, management of
violent patient, treatment of anxiety.
2. Introduction to Clinical Medicine (an introductory
course for medical students teaching
interviewing, assessment and physical examination
procedures), School of Medicine,
University of Nevada, Reno.
3. Training and supervision of biofeedback program, Mental
Health Clinic, VAMC, Reno.
4. Yearly lectures on hypnosis, biofeedback, pain control
and treatment of eating and smoking
problems, non drug treatment of anxiety, post-traumatic
stress syndrome, management of
the violent patient, etc. Human Behavior Blocks, Clerkship
Lecture Series, and fourth-year
electives. School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno,
Nevada.
5. Dealing with Violent Patients, a three-hour training
workshop presented at various
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and at
various other state and community
mental health programs. Chairperson, Behavioral Emergency
Training Committee, VAMC,
Reno.
6. Faculty, National Judicial College (American Bar
Association); Lectures on various mental
health topics, Reno, Nevada.
7. Master
Trainer for Total Quality Improvement program, VAMC, Reno,
NV.
8.
Certification and Approved Consultant in Clinical Hypnosis,
American Society Of Clinical Hypnosis.
9.
Bayer Certified Trainer
Awards and Grants
Dean's List, California State University, Northridge: 1966,
1967, 1968.
National Institute of Mental Health Fellowship: 1971-1973.
Veterans Administration Stipend: 1974-1975.
Collaborative Research Grant: School of Medical Sciences,
University of Nevada, Reno,
Nevada, and Veterans Administration Hospital, Reno, Nevada.
Clinical comparison of
the effectiveness of deep muscle relaxation, nitrous oxide
administration and a combination
of the two procedures: 1977.
Certificate of Dedication for Continuous Volunteer
Community Service, Speaker's Bureau,
University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada: 1977. Certificates of
Appreciation 1978-91.
Performance Awards (quality increases) Veterans
Administration: 1/14/79, 5/3/81, 8/13/83,
6/5/84,10/15/91; Merit Pay Increases 1987, 1989, 1991,
1992, 1993.
Certificate of Appreciation, Disabled American Veterans,
for establishing a D.A.V. Outreach
program for Vietnam Veterans in Reno: 10/1/80.
Certificate of Appreciation, Veterans Administration
Medical Center, Reno, Nevada, for
leadership in early development and organization of the
Veterans Outreach Center: 1980.
Certificate of Appreciation, Department of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences, School of
Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno
Commendation Award for outstanding contributions to
planning, teaching and evaluation of
continuing education offerings, Interwest Regional Medical
Education Center, Salt Lake City,
Utah.
Special Contribution Award, V.A.M.C., Reno, Nevada: 1986.
Veterans Affairs Research Grant, 1991: A comparison of peer
and professional counselors for
AIDS education with veterans in rural Nevada.
Outstanding Psychologist (James Mikawa Award) 2001, Nevada
State Psychological
Association.
Congressional Recognition, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley,
Nevada’s First Congressional
District, May 19, 2001
Committees
Chairman, Northern Nevada Association of Certified
Psychologists, Task Force to Review the
Nevada Board of Psychological Examiners, 1980
Member, Mental Health Advisory Committee Interwest Regional
Medical Education Center,
Salt Lake City, Utah, 1981
Member, Readjustment Counseling Service, Evaluation and
Review Committee, VAMC, Reno
Member, Geriatrics Program Review Committee, V.A.M.C., Reno
Program Chairman, Combined Federal Campaign, V.A.M.C., Reno
Medical Executive Board, VASNHCS
Chair, Mental Health Council, VASNHCS
Chair, Marketing Committee
Member, Partnership Council VASNHCS
President, Nevada State Psychological Association,
2004-2005
Professional
Memberships
1.American Psychological Association
a. Division 18, Psychologists in Public Service
b. Division 30,
Psychological Hypnosis
c. Division 42, Psychologists in Independent Practice
2. Western Psychological Association
3. California State Psychological Association (inactive)
4. Nevada State Psychological Association
5. American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (Consultant
status)
6. International Society of Hypnosis (inactive)
7. Reno Area Federal Executive Council
8. Listed: National Register for Health Care Providers in
Psychology (inactive).
9. Biofeedback Supervisor (Biofeedback Certification
Institute of America).
Papers
Presented
Danton, W., Reccius, N. and Weckler, N. Perception of
interpersonal relationships in triadic social situations.
Presented at meetings of the Western Psycho- logical
Association, San Francisco, California, 1971.
Danton, W. Design and use of a hypnotically presented
cognitive reframing paradigm. Invited address. Division 30
Symposium: Theoretical approaches to psychotherapy.
Meetings of the American Psychological Association, San
Francisco, California, January 13, 1977.
Danton, W. Dealing with the violent patient. Invited
address. Veterans Administration Interwest Regional Medical
Education Center, San Francisco, California, September
1978.
Danton, W., May, J. and Lynn, E. Psychological and
physiological effects of relaxation, body awareness
training and nitrous oxide training. Presented at the
meetings of the Western Psychological Association,
Sacramento, California, April 1982.
Danton, W. (Discussant). Comparative efficacy of
psychological and pharmacological treatments for major
psychopathology. ( Antonuccio, D. and Ward, C., Chairs.)
Symposium conducted at the Combined Annual Meetings of the
Western Psychological Association and the Rocky Mountain
Psychological Association, Reno, NV, April 1989.
Danton, W. and Antonuccio, D. Advocating the non-drug
treatment of anxiety and depression.
Presented at the Mid-winter Meetings, Divisions 29, 42 and
43 of the American Psychological Association, Amelia Island
Plantation, FL, February 1992.
Danton, W. A comparison of peer counselors and nurse
educators in the delivery of aids education to rural Nevada
veterans. Presented at the meetings of the Office of
Academic Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs,
Washington D.C., March 1993.
Denelsky, G., Danton, W. and Antonuccio, D. Non-drug
treatment of anxiety and depression: superior to
pharmacotherapy? Presented at the Mid-winter Meetings,
Divisions 29, 42 and 43 of the American Psychological
Association, San Diego, CA, March 1993.
Denelski, G., Danton, W. and Antonuccio, D. Non-drug
treatment of anxiety and depression: superior to
pharmacotherapy? Presented at the Annual Meetings of the
American Psychological
Association, Toronto, Canada, August 1993.
Denelsky, G., Danton, W., Antonuccio, D. and Caron, B.
Non-drug treatment of anxiety, depression and
schizophrenia: superior to pharmacotherapy? Presented at
the Meetings of the American Psychological Association, Los
Angeles, CA, August 1994.
Danton, W. and Antonuccio, D. Challenging the conventional
wisdom about drug treatment for depression and anxiety.
Paper presented at the 1994 Conference of Hospital and
Community Psychiatry, Division of the American Psychiatric
Association, San Diego, CA, 1994.
Danton, W. The case for non-drug treatment of Anxiety.
Paper presented at Psychiatry Education Series, University
of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, NV June 1, 1994.
Danton, W. Non-drug treatment of Anxiety. First Northern
Nevada Conference: A forum on Mental Illness Issues, 1994.
Danton, W. Psychotherapy vs. medication in the treatment of
anxiety: Challenging the conventional wisdom. Symposium
paper presented at the Convention of the western
Psychological Association, Kona, HA, 1994.
Danton, W., DeNelsky, G., Greenberg, R. Etc. Non-drug
treatment of anxiety. Paper presented at the Midwinter
meetings of the American Psychological Association, New
Orleans, LA March 9, 1995.
Danton, W., Antonuccio, D. and DeNelsky, G. Non-drug
treatment of anxiety and depression.
Paper presented at The IV European Congress of Psychology.
Athens, Greece. July 1995.
Danton, W., Antonuccio, D. and DeNelsky, G. Psychotherapy:
Treatment of choice in the community. Midwinter Meetings of
the American Psychological Association, Phoenix, AZ. March
30, 1996.
Danton, W. Psychotherapy for Anxiety: Treatment of choice.
Presented at the annual meeting of the American
Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada. August 1996.
Danton, W. Psychotherapy for anxiety: Treatment of choice.
Paper presented at the 5th European Congress of Psychology,
Dublin, Ireland.
Danton, W. Comparing psychotherapy and drug treatments for
anxiety. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
August 1998.
Danton, W. Panel Discussion (with Hinitz, D., Loftus, E.,
Kimerer, M.): Ethical implications for clinical practice
and the courtroom (repressed memory). Paul McReynolds
Lecture and Workshop Series, University of Nevada, Reno,
NV. September 12, 1998.
Danton, W. No need to panic. Paper presented at the annual
meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Maui,
Hawaii, March 2001
Danton, W. Comparative effectiveness of anxiolytics
pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Paper to be presented at
the annual meeting of the American Psychological
Association, San Francisco, California, August 2001.
Workshops
Workshop leader for Interwest Regional Medical Education
Center,Vietnam Veteran's Readjustment Counseling Program
and University Speaker's Bureau on topics such as
hypnotherapy, conflict resolution, personality disorders,
stress, etc. Workshops have included Team Building and
Violent Patient workshops for the Veterans Administration
in Honolulu, DSM diagnostic workshop for the Readjustment
Counseling Program, Hypnosis in Psychotherapy, Sheridan
VAMC, Bayer communication skills training for primary care
physicians, and wellness workshops for the City of South
Lake Tahoe.
Publications
Danton, W. Sections on hypnosis, weight control and control
of smoking behavior for J.
Altrocchi's Abnormal Behavior. New York, Harcourt, Brace
and Jovanovich, 1980.
Danton, W., May, J. and Lynn, E. Psychological and
physiological effects of relaxation and
nitrous oxide training. Psychological
Reports, 1984, 55,
311- 322.
Antonuccio, D., Danton, W., Tearnan, B., and Alberding, K.
Pathological lying: An important-
no,the most important clinical problem facing mental health
professionals.
Journal of
Polymorphous Perversity, 1987, 4(1),
15-16
Antonuccio, D., Danton, W. and DeNelsky, G.
Psychotherapy
vs. medication for depression: Challenging the conventional
wisdom. Reno, NV:
University of Nevada School of Medicine. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED 371 263), 1993.
Antonuccio, D., Danton, W. and DeNelsky, G. Psychotherapy
for depression: No stronger medicine. NOVA Psi
Newsletter, 12(2), 11-13.
1994
Antonuccio, D., Danton, W. Depression Dont’s.
The APA
Monitor. 1993.
Danton, W. and Antonuccio, D. Think twice about anxiolytic
therapy. VA
Practioner, July 1993.
Danton, W., Altrocchi, J., Antonuccio, D. and Basta, R.
Non-drug treatment of anxiety.
American
Family Physician, 1994.
Antonuccio, D., Danton, W. and DeNelsky, G. Psychotherapy
vs. medication for depression: challenging the conventional
wisdom with data. Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice. 1995.
Antonuccio,
D.O., Danton, W.G. & DeNelsky. Depression:
psychotherapy is the best medicine. The
Therapist, 4(3), 30-40. 1997.
Antonuccio, D.O., Thomas, M. & Danton, W.G. A
cost-effectiveness analysis of cognitive behavior therapy
and fluoxitine (Prozac) in the treatment of
depression. Behavior
Therapy,
28,
187-210. 1997.
Danton, W.G., Antonuccio, D.O. & Rosenthal, Z. No need
to panic: non-drug treatment of anxiety.
The
Therapist,
4(4),
38-41. 1997.
Danton, W.G. & Antonuccio, D.O. A focused empirical
analysis of drug treatments for anxiety disorders. In S.
Fisher & R. Greenberg (eds.) From Placebo
to Panacea: Putting Psychiatric Drugs to the
Test. New York:
John Wiley & Sons. 229-280, 1998.
Antonuccio, D.O., Thomas, M. & Danton, W.G. A
cost-efffectiveness model: is pharmacotherapy really less
expensive than psychotherapy for depression? In S. Hayes
and Heiby (eds.) Prescription
Privileges for Psychologists: A Critical
Analysis. Context Press
1998.
Antonuccio, D.O., Danton, W.G., DeNelsky, G.Y., Greenberg,
P.P., & Gordon, J.S. Raising questions about
antidepressants. Psychotherapy
and Psychosomatics,
68,
3-14; 1999.
Antonuccio, D.O., Burns, D., Danton, W.G., & O’Donohue,
W. (2000). The rumble in Reno: The psychosocial perspective
on depression. Psychiatric
Times, 17, 10-13.
http://www.mhsource.com/pt/p000824.html
Antonuccio, D.O. & Danton, W.G. (1999). Adding
Behavioral Therapy to Medication for Smoking
Cessation. JAMA,
281, 1983-1984.
Antonuccio, D.O., Danton, W.G. & McClanahan, T.M.
Psychology in the prescription era: Building a firewall
between marketing and science. The American Psychologist,
58(12), 1028-1043. 2003
Media
Promotional tape: The research relation between Veterans
Administration Medical Center and the Medical School.
Department of Educational Support Communications,
University of Nevada, Reno. April 1977.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation: A videocassette series,
co-produced with J.May, Ph.D. Used by The U.S. Olympic Ski
Teams.
Media training packages on hypnosis, psychopathology of
everyday life violence, and suicide.
Keeping
the Promise A promotional
tape for VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System. 2000.
Hypnosis
for Golfers A DVD for
golfers designed to improve their mental game. 2002.
Tools
For the Mental Game A DVD for
golfers. 2004
Special
Interests
Corporate wellness, brief therapy, hypnosis and treatment
of anxiety disorders.
References
Thomas Barcia, M.D., Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans
Affairs Medical Center,
Reno, Nevada, 89520.
David Antonuccio, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine,
University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, 89502.
Jerry May, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences, School of Medicine,
University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, 89502.
Updated 2/05