Danielle Brown

Danielle Brown is an Associate Teaching Professor in Practicum Education at the University of Southern California's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, where she has served as faculty since 2011 and currently supervises the Trauma Recovery Center (TRC@USC). Her work integrates clinical expertise with social work education, focusing on trauma-responsive practices across field placements and virtual learning environments.

Her academic credentials include:

• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz (1997)
• Master of Arts in Dance with emphasis in Dance as Healing from the University of California, Los Angeles (2002)
• Master of Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles (2004)

Professor Brown's research centers on trauma-informed care through multiple therapeutic modalities including EMDR, dance/movement therapy, and interpersonal neurobiology. Her body-mind approach addresses grief, mental illness, and substance abuse recovery while emphasizing pedagogical innovation in social work training. As a board-certified dance/movement therapist and EMDRIA Approved Consultant, she bridges clinical practice with academic instruction.

Her publications reveal a consistent focus on adapting trauma-informed methodologies to contemporary educational challenges, particularly in virtual classrooms and field placements. This work demonstrates how technology-enhanced frameworks can maintain therapeutic presence while addressing systemic barriers in social work education.

Brown actively shapes MSW training through the Trauma Recovery Center@USC, where she supervises clinical work and develops internship programs. Her national presentations advance trauma-responsive pedagogy and highlight movement-based interventions for complex trauma recovery.

The Trauma Recovery Center serves as both clinical training ground and research hub, applying Brown's integrated approach to support justice-involved populations and develop evidence-based field education models.