Psychotherapy with Anna

Relationship building is a two-way street in my office. So just in case you were wondering, here is a tidbit about how I got here.

 

It may sound cliché to say I believe I was always meant to be a therapist, but I truly do believe this. I’ve always had personality traits that lend themselves to a helping profession: introspection, gentleness, empathy, a knack for observation, etc. I identify as an empath/HSP, and even before I had the language to describe it, I knew this as a child. In short…

 

My greatest strength: I love people. 

My greatest challenge: I love people.

Full disclosure: I’m also a total science nerd. If you're a client of mine, you may see the evidence of this in the way I nerd out over discussions of neurobiology as it pertains to therapy. I always knew I wanted to work in the sciences and work with the human body. Fun fact: I actually began my college career studying to be a physical therapist. As fate would have it, I found my way to a more emotionally-focused form of human science that I connected with even more, and never looked back. I received my B.S. in Psychology and Sociology from Louisiana State University, and my M.A. in Counseling from St. Edward’s University. My first experience as a therapist was working with adults in an inpatient psychiatric hospital setting. My patients were typically folks experiencing high acuity disorders and crises. I have treated for suicidality, depression, DID, panic attacks, schizophrenia, personality disorders, chronic self-harm, and substance abuse - you name it. Being a psychotherapist in an inpatient unit taught me a lot & was incredibly meaningful to me. I actually excelled at being "in the trenches" where I believe a lot of professional helpers buckle, and found that I was naturally good at being with folks in their darkest hour.

 

Thanks to that background in a hospital setting, I feel comfortable with most anything that comes my way these days, and for that I am grateful. However now, as a private practice therapist, I get to enjoy a bit of a slower pace and a longer treatment process, as many clients come to private therapy sessions weekly over a long period of time. In my private practice, I also get to serve a population that is incredibly underserved in larger hospitals and agency settings: folks with trauma/PTSD.

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Today, I bring my expertise as a trauma-informed psychotherapist, a trained psychedelic therapist, and my lived experience as a yogic practitioner into my work by providing a form of therapy that focuses on the mind-body connection. My approach incorporates a framework of Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Experiencing, and Internal Family Systems to highlight the neurobiological underpinnings of what “safety” means to us and how a lack of safety can affect our relationships, beliefs about ourselves, and beliefs about the world.

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My specialization in trauma therapy also led me to one of my biggest passions in the therapy world: Psychedelic therapies as trauma treatment. I was lucky enough to receive training, certification, and a role as ketamine therapist on a multidisciplinary team here in Austin in 2020, which led to me eventually guiding up to 15+ ketamine-assisted psychotherapy sessions per week. As I was cutting my teeth in KAP, the COVID pandemic was simultaneously eviscerating life as we knew it. Some of my earliest KAP clients were nurses & paramedics coping with vicarious trauma from being on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic. Again, I enjoyed being "in the trenches" with folks who needed mental health care the most. As of 2023, I have now facilitated thousands of KAP sessions for trauma survivors here in Austin as well as for folks who flew in from accross the U.S. My experience in KAP includes nearly every type of trauma case from acute first responder PTSD, to the complex trauma of surviving a religious cult, to your average Austinite with a dysfunctional childhood which now manifests as a hypervigilant nervous system. I am currently pursuing formal training for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, and I can safely say that I will be actively involved in the movement towards psychedelic therapies for mental health issues for likely the remainder of my career.

 

When I’m not in the therapist chair, you can catch me on my own self-improvement journey, moving my body in some capacity through hikes, yoga, or doing my own somatic work under the sun at auditorium shores. I also love to travel, specifically to locations where I can scuba dive. I've also been known to claim my innate right to rest by taking a good ol’ nap between sessions (rest is NECESSARY!), or to pop by the local LSU bar for football games (geaux tigers!).

Thanks for reading, and I hope I get the chance to know you too!