Anna Paterson
MA, LLPC, PMH-C, NCC, EFTI

Healing and powerful change are within reach, I deeply understand how hard and overwhelming life can feel at times. Life circumstances, new changes, loss, and transitions effect emotions, coping abilities, and resilience creating overwhelming and unmanageable symptoms. You are not alone, together we can learn to heal, rebuild, feel, and create lasting change. I believe through an authentic, warm therapeutic relationship, human connection, and space to feel – everyone has the personal power to find peace and their highest version of Self.

As a Professional Counselor, Perinatal, Postpartum, and Parenting Specialist, and EFT (tapping) Practitioner, I specialize in addressing anxiety from a cognitive-behavioral perspective while also educating clients on somatically (physically) processing and releasing anxiety, women’s issues - pre/postpartum, pregnancy, fertility issues, and parenthood, and life transitions such a college, parenthood, and midlife and retirement challenges.

When working with clients, I focus on intentional consciousness building and creating self-awareness through Internal Family Systems methodology – “parts” exploration and building trusting, compassionate relationships with self-parts. Self-compassion is promoted by learning coping strategies and skills through gentle processing of current and old destructive patterns and traumas.  Through the incredible powerful and effective process of EFT – tapping, I empower clients to understating patterns in their life, process chronic symptoms (emotional and physical), and finally heal from traumas, relationship cycles, addictions, and somatic, pervasive anxiety. Together, we understand how old traumas and emotional patterns are somatically stored in the body and how such events and experiences present as thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physical symptoms. Transformation is possible, there is great hope for last change, you can reclaim your life today. Contact me today for a complementary introduction session.

Along with my professional and educational qualifications, working with me as your therapist feels different than others – my innate ability to build trust, compassionately process, and intuitively understand the “unspoken”, clients are empowered to transform on a deep level. I have a profound personal understanding of the unique stressors and challenges modern, career women, and stay at home mothers face. I became a perinatal mental health certified specialist as an avenue to serve and give back to this beautiful population after suffering for years with anxiety, perfectionism, as well as personal experiences of infertility, pregnancy complications, NICU stays, and a postpartum anxiety journey, all while raising and loving my four young children. I’ve been there, I understand.

I achieved a Master of Arts in Community Counseling from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, LLPC Counseling Licensure in the state of Michigan. Postpartum Support International educated and Perinatal Mental Health Certified, Internal Family Systems informed and EFT Practitioner accredited from EFT International. I have a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.

Let’s do this together, schedule a free consultation today!

Utilizing synergies of evidence-based methodologies as cognitive behavioral and psychoanalytic therapeutic principles, Rogerian listening, with somatic release education and holistic therapies such as Emotional Freedom Therapy or tapping, visualization, breathe-work, I encourage personal insight and growth, healing, and maximizing personal fulfillment.

Through Internal Family Systems or IFS therapy principals, we, together, can begin to recognize, build compassion for, and change unhelpful patterns of behavior by getting to the root cause of distress, relationship challenges, anxiety, and depression.

How we learn to relate, engage and create daily adult interactions within the world is rooted in our earliest attachments, relationship role modeling, and how we learned to trust, relate, and love in relationships with others, but even more profoundly with ourselves.

From childhood experiences and relationships with our caregivers and parents teach us how to interact with the world and those around us. Most of these patterns ad triggers are set in childhood and remain unconscious locked in the subconscious level of the brain and stored within the body leading most clients to still suffer as adults because, as infants and then as children, they did not have a healthy connection with their parents. Healing these old thought and behavioral patterns allow us to understand ourselves but also move through the world as a healthier individual, partner, and parent. None of us are taught how to be perfect parents; therefore, many of us find ourselves unconsciously repeating our parents’ maladaptive patterns.

From anxiety to new and experienced stressors of parenting, to personal and professional relationship issues, life transition as college or retirement or processing trauma, I am dedicated to help individuals find a better, centered way of living to allow for feeling emotionally, mentally, and physically strong.

Combining IFS and tapping modalities, clients can identify the core and root of suffering and understanding the motivators behind our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. True transformation and change emerges as we, together, begin to untangle the control that trauma, anxiety, depression, or relationship problems have over us.

Through my therapeutic approach, the power of therapy and a trusting therapeutic relationship my clients are empowered to clients untangle the roots of their suffering and challenges, build compassionate relationships with all parts of Self, and finally free themselves from the old patterns, “shoulds” or “have tos” and become their most authentic, highest self. I validate your pain, I see you and believe in the power you have to step into your confidence, secure, and inner power. Together, we Heal – Rebuild – Feel – Change.  

Outside of the office, I love spending time with my children and family, playing sports, and travelling to beautiful Northern Michigan.  

Let’s do this together, schedule a free consultation here.