Anne Meyers, MA, LMFT

It can be hard to take that first step: deciding to seek counseling. As we grow up, many of us are told that we should keep our problems within the family or believe that we should be able to work things out “on our own”. The truth is that everyone could use an objective, compassionate perspective at some point in his or her life, and assistance from a counselor skilled at helping others can be enormously effective and rewarding. If you feel like you’ve hit a wall within a relationship, feel stuck, or have concerns about your teen or another family member, I can help. I will work with you on gaining insight into the areas of your life that feel stuck, processing what is happening for you in your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and getting you un-stuck on your journey, with new choices and opportunities available to you.

Often, when I speak to clients who are new to therapy, they will ask me, “So how does this therapy thing work?” It is normal to be nervous when you start therapy. I strive to make the process as comfortable as possible. The first thing I focus on is laying the groundwork for successful therapy: essentially, I develop a relationship with you that feels comfortable, collaborative and not intimidating. My approach to counseling incorporates acceptance, compassion and a sense of humor into our work. In the initial phase, I also work with you to identify areas of difficulty and to gain information about relationship and family history.

I then assist you in addressing aspects of your life that you would like to improve: would you like to manage recurring anxiety and/or depression? Are you and your partner experiencing a loss of intimacy or having difficulty with communicating? Do you have difficulty believing in yourself and wish you were more confident? Do you feel like your family has grown apart and wish you could all be closer? These are a few examples of issues I have assisted clients with. Depending on what you would like to achieve in therapy, I can help you work through painful issues, while giving you tools to manage thoughts, feelings and behaviors that arise from or are associated with difficult relationships, trauma, anger, anxiety and depression.

Through experience, I have learned that you will benefit the most from a collaborative approach. You do not want solutions thrown at you, but rather, would like therapy to be tailored to you. I strive to create a therapeutic team with you which incorporates principles of acceptance and empathy, balanced with the right amount of tools/actions you can employ to achieve results in your life.

I would work adults offering individual, couples and family therapy.  I obtained training in numerous therapeutic approaches, with a focus in Couple and Family Therapy, over the course of my education and experience working with clients. My approach to therapy is integrative and incorporates Attachment-Focused Family Therapy, Person Centered Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy techniques and EMDR Therapy for trauma resolution, if it is desired by you as a client.

I have a special interest in working with couples, adult survivors of abuse (including domestic/intimate partner violence), family of origin issues, and trauma. I also have experience working with a variety of issues, including PTSD, grief and loss, anxiety, depression, parenting, women’s issues, relationship issues and self esteem. My mission is to assist couples and families with conflict and communication issues and to support the healing process of adult survivors of

Therapeutic Approach

In order to be comfortable with your therapist, I believe that you need to feel fully empathized with and accepted for who you are. Person Centered Therapy holds as its central tenet that in order to be successful in therapy, a client must feel fully accepted, empathized with and that his or her therapist is genuine in his or her approach.

Attachment-Focused Family Therapy incorporates the concept of PACE into its application, which stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. I believe that your experience should be fully validated and taken seriously, and also believe that when appropriate, a sense of humor and light-heartedness in your therapist can be helpful in making you feel comfortable. I also believe that you are the authority on your life and what you need; therefore, I strive to be curious when exploring your experiences, rather than making assumptions about you and your life.

Many clients are also looking for tools to manage their symptoms of anger, anxiety and trauma. I have been trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy which research has shown to be effective in assisting clients manage the symptoms that can negatively impact their day to day living.