meet our Founder and Therapist

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Meet Birdsong's founder and therapist Denise Duke, LCSW (formerly Denise Hansen). Denise founded Birdsong Counseling in 2024, paying homage to the distinctive gift birds have of sharing their unique and beautiful songs when feeling safe in their environment. Several studies, like one published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, have correlated hearing bird’s sounds and interactions in nature with stress recovery and other mental health benefits. 

With a lifelong passion for healthy relationships and emotional health, Denise pursued a decades long dream of becoming a therapist after overcoming relationship trauma and its complex impacts. In 2015, Denise, an interior designer and single mother of three teens, relocated to Utah from the East Coast to attend Brigham Young University where she completed a B.S. in Family Life and a Master's in Social Work, a program that was ranked the third most competitive social work graduate program in the country. She is a published peer-reviewed author who studied mindfulness and its positive impact on couples in conflict. 

Over the last 7 years, Denise has dedicated her time, energy, and passion for mental health and relationships to work with clients in a variety of settings. She began her clinical practice working for Wasatch Behavioral Health on Utah’s Prevention and Recovery from Early Psychosis (PREP) team. She also worked with LDS Family Services, and as a FEMA trained crisis counselor for Utah Department of Human Services. 

After relocating to Sacramento, CA in 2020, Denise worked as a development counselor at Deseret Industries, a job training program dedicated to helping individuals overcome barriers to long term employment. Collaborating with and supporting the staff on-site, she provided counseling to a diverse clientele, helping them overcome extreme challenges related to physical and mental disabilities, refugee and war trauma, domestic violence, immigrant resettlement, personality disorders, ADHD, eating disorders, homelessness, addiction, and complex trauma. She then spent a year in the San Francisco Bay Area as a counselor for Family Services before moving to Northwest AR where she has helped numerous clients create acceptance and peace in their lives.

Denise believes in the power of personal accountability and self-compassion. She is dedicated to providing a safe and empathic space for her clients on their healing journey. She is a certified trauma professional and a somatic practitioner. She expertly utilizes evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness based treatments, Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples, EMDR, and others to identify and treat the root of clients’ distress and empower them with curiosity, care, and compassion. 

Denise is married to the love of her life; they have eight children, five grandchildren, and two grand-dogs in their blended family. In her spare time, Denise loves reading, listening to K-pop, enjoying the great outdoors, traveling, and practicing yoga and meditation. She couldn't live without sushi, chocolate, and frequent road trips to Trader Joe's.