Mary Anne is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Spanish from Furman University and a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from Wake Forest University. She has experience working with children, teenagers, adults, and families in both medical and private practice settings.

Mary Anne tailors her counseling approach to fit the developmental needs of her clients. As a certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator, Mary Anne offers parenting education and values working closely with the family system to encourage positive growth and development.

Mary Anne also works with pregnant and postpartum women. Her training in perinatal mood disorders coupled with her passion for maternal mental health and experience as a mother herself allows her to serve women and families as they navigate pregnancy, parenthood, and life transitions.

In the counseling room, Mary Anne strives to create a comfortable space for clients to be their authentic self and work through their concerns. She works alongside her clients to encourage them to discover their strengths, explore ways to empower themselves, and promote healthy change.

I am Currently accepting clients in person and telehealth.

It is my goal to help people feeling anxious, sad, having difficulties with fertility or depressed. I want to help you find strength in order to help with symptoms and reach your goals.
I have worked extensively with those suffering from post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, families in foster care, infants and baby bonding. I have a passion to help families and individuals communicate their needs and increase positive communication.
If you need support in understanding your current symptoms, please know that I am here to help and support you. Please feel free to call or email for additional support. I look forward to hearing from you.

Our journey through life can be challenging at times. We often allow our past, present, and even future circumstances to prevent us from optimizing our journey. Whether you are a mother juggling multiple roles, a spouse feeling unappreciated, a young adult figuring out life, or a child/teen whose parents don't understand, I will work with you to identify your needs, create goals, and help you conquer emotional and behavioral challenges that arise at each stage of your journey. I provide a non-judgemental therapeutic atmosphere of confidentiality, respect, collaboration, empowerment, and healing so that we can create your desired outcomes. I believe you are worthy and capable of living the life you envision, so let's take this journey together.

I have worked in the mental health field for 10 years. I have worked with children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, geriatrics, and military service members. I have a vast array of skill sets and the ability to exhibit compassion and empathy with analytical thinking skills and positive rapport building. I have a background in providing services to individuals experiencing trauma, depression, anxiety, child and adolescent behavioral concerns, parenting needs, family conflict, marital and relationship conflict, addiction, risk assessments, and domestic & sexual violence.

I specialize in treating trauma, depression, anxiety, family and couple conflict, daily stressors, and mindfulness techniques. I incorporate evidence-based clinical interventions from a systemic perspective. My therapeutic approach fosters a warm, down-to-earth style in which clinical interventions will be tailored to your specific needs. 

I'm a Brazilian-Korean-American Licensed Professional Counselor and National Certified Counselor. My academic background includes a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Georgia State University. Fulfilling my lifelong dream of becoming a therapist, I have a profound belief in the transformative power of psychotherapy. Despite the effort it demands, the path is unquestionably rewarding. I place my confidence in the inherent strength within every client, fostering transformation from the inside out. I value honesty, compassion, authenticity, inclusivity, growth, and I approach my work with professionalism and care.

My goal is not to 'fix' your problems or talk you out of your emotions; instead, I'll guide you in understanding them, helping uncover their root causes for a deeper insight into yourself, your relationships, and behavior patterns. As your therapist, I prioritize creating a warm, non-judgmental space for you to process your experiences, and recognize the intricate layers that contribute to your overall well-being.

I integrate evidence-based approaches such as Psychodynamic, Person-Centered, Somatic, Narrative, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive-Behavioral, and Mindfulness practices. I am also EMDR trained and fluent in Portuguese. During our sessions, I'll invite you to explore how early experiences may influence your current behavior, consider the body-mind connection, and embrace the possibility of developing new thought patterns and practices for a more balanced life.

I have helped clients experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma and post traumatic stress, racial trauma, grief, perfectionism, self-esteem, relationship/communication issues, and identity exploration. I offer in-person and virtual sessions.

When not counseling, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, playing music, and cooking pasta.

My formal education focused on psychology and clinical social work. My professional experiences have been in public schools, hospitals and outpatient clinics, the Military, international nonprofits, universities and various community settings. I currently have a private practice with offices in Napa, in addition to my virtual office, where I provide "teletherapy" to clients in both California and Texas.
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My therapy training began in public schools with special education, K-12. I counseled children with mental health concerns and led life skills groups. I worked intensively with adolescents (and their caregivers) in alternative school programs burdened by emotional concerns.
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I spent most of the next decade working in hospitals, both pediatric and adult, assessing and responding to a variety of issues including devastating diagnoses, chronic health conditions, end of life issues, infertility and pregnancy loss, postpartum depression, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault and mental health crises. During this time, I taught and supervised students for the University of Texas at Austin Graduate School of Social Work. After ten years, I shifted out of the hospital setting to therapist lead of an integrated behavioral healthcare network where I helped build a program for providing mental health and case management to a pediatric and family medical practice serving 30,000 low income families.
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An opportunity led me to England for two years, where I managed a prevention and education campaign related to new parent support and family violence prevention. I educated US Air Force members and families on topics such as stress and anger management, PTSD, resilience, healthy dating, couple's communication and parenting, while co-facilitating support groups on chronic medical conditions. During this time, I also worked with Airmen and families on managing stress before and after deployments and transitioning to civilian life after a military career.
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After a brief return to the U.S. to study Spanish at the Defense Language Institute of Monterey, I moved to South America and worked for the U.S. Embassy while volunteering with a Chilean nonprofit. During this time, I researched advances in counseling and coaching methodology. Although I have a working knowledge of Spanish, I do not provide services in Spanish at this time.
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In 2014, I relocated to Napa, pregnant again after experiencing pregnancy loss. After treating parents for postpartum depression and anxiety, I experienced it first-hand and became aware of a need for expanded maternal mental health support in my community. So I added services to my private practice that would address infertility, pregnancy and postpartum mental health support, Moxie Motherhood, and co-founded a pregnant and postpartum peer support program.
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For almost two decades, I have honed my clinical expertise from problem-focused to possibility-focused. I remain current on research and active in the professional dialogue of wellness, balancing my time between counseling, coaching, teaching, volunteering and parenting. Read more here.
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I welcome the opportunity to support you.

Thank you for taking the time to view my profile. It is my passion to be able to walk along side with you in situations that pushes you to feeling alone, anxious, sad or depressed. I want to help you find hope in your daily struggle and with that, I would like to support you in gaining insight and encourage you while helping you try to manage situations that feel unmanageable. My approach is very unique and personal that is tailored to each of my client's personality and situation.
I have worked extensively with those suffering from post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, isolation, sadness and families suffering from relationship concerns. I believe every individual is capable of tasting the passion they have for life in whatever aspect they personally desire.
I continuously strive to help those become inspired by their own strengths. If you are needing support in understanding your current circumstances, please know that I would be more than happy to help guide and support you during this difficult time. Please call or email me.

I have a passion to work with adolescents (13+) and adults on an individual basis who are struggling with anxiety, depression, self-esteem and identity development, life transitions, spirituality. I also have a desire to help individuals who have experienced infidelity and sexual betrayal heal from their experiences. First and foremost, my goal is to provide a safe, non-judgmental environment where you can begin your journey of healing, progress, and growth. I am practicing under the direction of Melanie Gulley and the supervision of DeVon Mills, PhD, LPC, ACS at Compassion Cove Counseling.

Hi, thanks for reading my Bio! I've been a psychologist now for 30 years. Over that time, I've helped more than 10,000 people. This is my 3rd career - I started as a Domino's Pizza manager, then a computer programmer for IBM. I became a psychologist after seeing my own psychologist during a difficult divorce. I learned so much from that experience that I knew it was right for me - so I went back to school. I've also completed 90% of a post doctoral certificate in neuropsychology.

I find that most people I work with are interested in one of two kinds of therapy. First, some people are interested in problem solving / solution focused therapy - finding solutions to life's many problems. I use brain science and the design of human beings to develop creative shortcuts to these problems. I've created my own names for them, such as the 'what else' technique, or reverse psychologizing yourself, or the 3 P's of grieving, or the 'outside the box' technique.

Other people want to understand themselves at a deep level. Perhaps they find themselves making the same mistakes in life. Or they wonder 'how did I get here?' The want to understand their personality structure and to make deep, long lasting changes - to become, not necessarily happier, but more successful and satisfied with life. During this process, I describe what I consider to be 'the ultimate in mental health.'

And now you know ... The rest of the story!

I speak kid + teen. I want my clients to go from a place of surviving to thriving. I’m here to help them uncover how to find joy and perseverance in life by connecting deeper with themselves and others through the use of therapeutic strategies and interventions that they can carry with them forever. I have my masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialty in children and adolescent development. I am trained in play therapy and utilize cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) modalities to provide an individualized approach to therapy.
My promise is to allow clients and their families to feel valued and heard while motivating them to become the best versions of themselves! I am dedicated to celebrating clients' individuality and allowing clients the space to explore their story and in return gain confidence, awareness, and self-acceptance.
I would be honored to walk alongside your child and your family during this time. After all, we are each unique and worth celebrating! I am also a 200hr Registered Yoga Teacher and love to incorporate mind + body awareness in my sessions. I wasn’t kidding when I said "I speak kid and teen." *I do take college aged and adult clients based on referral.

Clinical Psychologist, Professional Mediator and Arbitrator with considerable experience working with individuals (adult, adolescents, and children), couples, families, organizations, and other systems.