LMHC, 30 years of experience
New to Grow
Hello, my name is Ann and look forward to meeting and to working with you. I moved from Pennsylvania in 2019 as I could not handle winter any more and needed to be somewhere warm! I have two Master of Arts degrees from Kutztown University - one in Counseling Psychology ( obtained in 1995) and the other in School Counseling ( obtained in 2004). I started in mental health therapy in 1995, then moved into substance abuse counseling for several years, then school counseling while I raised my son for 18 yrs, and now back to mental health/substance use counseling as that is my passion. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my husband doing outdoor activities - especially riding the Harley and going out on the water. I love to walk daily and enjoy knitting in my spare time. Everyone in life ( including therapists at times) need someone to talk to in order to help resolve problems, manage stress, process trauma or enhance coping skills. I believe in looking at what you want to accomplish as the goal of therapy and then working on skills to achieve that goal. I utilize cognitive-behavioral techniques as well as person-centered techniques and when needed will involve the family if the client is willing and if it will enhance our work together. I believe everyone has the tools inside them to achieve their goals; it is just about unlocking them and utilizing them. I have worked extensively with trauma survivors and have utilized mindfulness exercises. I also have worked extensively with clients who have co-occurring disorders including depression/anxiety along with substance use disorder. I also have work extensively with teenagers and LGTBQ+ community.
The first session is the get to you know and you get to know me session. This is where we learn about each other and how I can best meet your goals.
I listen, try to understand and then look to meet the needs of my client. Methods depend on what you the client needs. Results are meeting the needs of you - the client.
Anyone who is willing to work on themselves and look to improve what is not working in their lives in order to become a better version of themselves.
Work with clients to work through past traumas by reconnecting their emotional and cognitive parts of their brain and by challenging negative thoughts and reframing them