ANNA SHAFFNER, LCMHC, LCASA, NCC

Anna Talks Therapy

I grew up in Winston-Salem with loving parents and two older sisters. My dad started his own successful business and my mom had been a social worker before she had my oldest sister. My parents were both high achievers who served on numerous boards and volunteered within the community extensively.

At a young age, I developed an idea of doing the right thing that translated into periods of impossibly high standards for myself, or perfectionism. When I was fifteen, I put myself on a strict low carb diet and lost twenty pounds in two months. At first, I felt more energetic, studied and slept better, and was happier with my appearance. But before long I started to feel exhausted and have mood swings, and felt the added strain on my body and relationships.

I eventually found a healthy balance of well-rounded diet and exercise, and gained a deeper compassion for myself in the process. Recognizing the importance of my relationship to my health at that age helps me in my work with adolescent and young adult clients today. I know how the struggle of trying to meet expectations while dealing with inevitable change can shape a person for years to come. This battle also sparked my interest in Nutrition, which became my major at Clemson University, while minoring in Psychology.

I was about halfway through my last semester of college when my mother died unexpectedly. My parents were in town for a Clemson football game, a life-long family tradition, when she had a stroke at the breakfast table. She passed a week later. Two of my closest friends had lost a parent, but countless conversations with them over the years couldn’t prepare me for my own loss. I was trying to finish strong before graduation, but I could hardly get out of bed, much less focus on exams and my thesis paper. So I decided to meet with a counselor, despite the perfectionist voice in my head telling me I could use that hour more productively.

My counselor helped me acknowledge the immense stress I was under, guided me through the start of a long grieving process, and helped me find compassion for myself once again. I told only a few people that I was going to therapy. I thought it made me seem weak or self-indulgent, or that it might even be hurtful for some - that even with all the support from family, friends, church, and our community, I still felt alone and paralyzed with pain.

Since joining the mental health field, I have worked hard to overcome those fears and to help reduce the stigma surrounding these issues that so many of us face.

I went on to pursue a degree in counseling and during school began working in the field of addiction and recovery, which taught me more about the powerful connection of mind and body. Following graduation, I continued in this work and discovered my affinity for helping adolescents and young adults navigate through the array of challenges we face as we emerge into adulthood.

My target areas for adolescents (14+) are:

• Feel Overwhelmed/Stressed about classes, sports, friends, parents or relationships

• Depression

• Struggles with Self-Esteem

• Thoughts on Self-Harm or Suicide

• Concerns over Substance Use or other addictive or impulsive behaviors

My target areas for young adults (22+) are:

• Career Anxiety

• Time Management

• Post-college life/transitioning into adulthood

• Relationship Issues

• Depression

• Loneliness

• Thoughts of self-harm or suicide

• Substance Use or other addictive or impulsive behaviors

• PTSD and other Trauma Related Concerns

Finally, I am trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, a technique that was originally designed to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but has also been shown to successfully treat addictions, depression, anxiety and panic attacks, complicated grief, self-esteem, phobias, and other concerns.  Learn more here.

I love seeing people thrive and would love to help you get started.