Honoring Dr. Garry Del Conte: A Mentor, Friend, and Pioneer in Mental Health Care
By Emily Vanderpool, LPC-MHSP, LBA
Owner/ Director, Germantown Behavioral Solutions
There are some people whose presence in your life is so steady, reassuring, and meaningful that it’s difficult to imagine a world without them.
For me, Dr. Garry Del Conte, affectionately known throughout our professional community as “Dr. D.,” was one of those people.
Garry was a gifted clinician, supervisor, visionary leader, and founder of Daybreak Treatment Center in Germantown, Tennessee. But to me, he was also a mentor, dear friend, and one of my biggest cheerleaders.
During my work at Daybreak as a program therapist, Garry introduced me to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and provided the training and mentorship that ultimately led to my own Linehan Board Certification in DBT. His clinical expertise was extraordinary, but equally remarkable was his ability to inspire confidence in others. He could navigate the most challenging clinical situations with wisdom, compassion, an easy manner, and expert care, and somehow leave you feeling more capable of handling them yourself and less anxious about the process.
Even after my time at Daybreak ended and I entered private practice, Garry continued to encourage me. He genuinely rooted for my success. We also had the privilege of collaborating on several foundational DBT trainings locally, an experience I treasured as our relationship evolved from supervisor—supervisee into a lasting professional partnership.
Dr. D’s contributions to the Mid-South mental health community cannot be overstated. He was instrumental in bringing the life-saving treatment of Dialectical Behavior Therapy to our region on a grand scale, becoming Tennessee’s first Linehan Board Certified DBT Clinician and leading Daybreak to achieve the state’s first Linehan Board Certified DBT Program Certification. Through his vision, dedication, and unwavering commitment to evidence-based care, Garry helped save countless lives—both through his direct clinical work and by expanding access to effective treatment for individuals struggling with severe emotional distress, self-harm, and suicidal behaviors. His impact extends far beyond the clients he personally treated, reaching generations of clinicians he trained and the countless individuals and families who continue to benefit from the care he helped establish.
I believe I speak for so many whose lives were touched by Garry when I say that we are better clinicians, better colleagues, and better humans for having known him. His generosity, wisdom, humor, and unwavering belief in others left an impression that will endure long after his passing.
Garry’s legacy lives on through the lives he helped save, the families he gave hope to, and the clinicians whose careers he shaped. I am especially grateful to be among those who benefited from his generosity in sharing his knowledge and passion for DBT. His influence continues not only in my own clinical work, but in the care I strive to provide and the clinicians I hope to inspire in turn.
Garry, thank you for believing in me, cheering me on, sharing your wisdom so generously, and making me laugh along the way. The Mid-South mental health community has lost a pioneer, and I have lost a treasured mentor and friend. I will carry your encouragement and wisdom with me always.
