Teletherapy for Ann Arbor, MI

The pressures and issues of your everyday life can become overwhelming. Many of which you feel you can resolve on your own. But, seeking professional counseling can help to eliminate those issues more productively, beyond your ability to self-help alone. With the consistent guidance and support, you can see growth and change in the areas that matter to you the most….we become a team working towards your success.

I offer deep, effective counseling treatment. I specialize in relationship struggles, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, complex trauma, high stress/burn out and depression. My advanced training focuses on helping clients to resolve emotional distress and psychological symptoms. I support clients in cultivating feelings of peace, confidence and connection. This paves the way for improved relationships with both self and others. In my practice, an emphasis is placed on personal development and revitalization.

Many of my clients are looking for new ways of handling stress in their lives, are working to heal from difficult early experiences, or are seeking to improve their intimate relationships. Together, we can observe stuck patterns with curiosity, heal old wounds, and experiment with new ways of relating to yourself and others. I deeply enjoy helping people see themselves in a new light and experience increased wellbeing in their relationships.

On the outside you look like you've got it all together. People see you as confident and hard-working and trust you to get the job done. But on the inside you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, worried that any day now, people will see the "real" you and be disappointed. You've spent years working to build a solid reputation, but can't shake the voice in your head convincing yourself to do just one more thing to achieve success, just one more, just one more, just one more. You're tired from the hustle and starting to lose hope that anything could be different. It's time for a change.

Hello and welcome to Dreaming Tree Counseling. You are so courageous for considering the next step in your healing journey! My name is Jennifer (Jen) Towns (she/her). It is my personal and professional belief that everyone can discover their most authentic and successful self. I invite you to a safe space where you can learn to trust, speak your truth, and realize your potential for emotional growth and change. ​I practice trauma-informed holistic therapy - blending somatic body work, EMDR, IFS / ego-state parts work, and a general recognition of the impact of traumas and attachment wounds on ourselves and our relationships.

I specialize in working with individuals and couples struggling with relationship issues, depression, anxiety, and addiction. My areas of expertise include couples therapy, men's issues, sexual issues, and parenting issues. My approach to therapy is engaging and interactive. I believe that therapy should not be hard and heavy. You can not fix a problem from the same place it came from. My motto is "light and easy." We will confront difficult situations and tackle great challenges together in a light and easy way. I aim to inspire my clients and more often than not my clients end up inspiring me.

There is never a better time to take the first step than the present. I am an LMSW and LCSW and practice telehealth therapy in CO, NM, MI and SD. Mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, along with various life stressors can feel overwhelming and debilitating. The therapeutic journey begins with listening, understanding and a non-judgmental environment. We all want to be heard and understood. I offer a variety of flexible psychotherapeutic interventions to deal with life stressors such as grief, trauma, work and relationship obstacles that cause mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

The individuals, couples, and families with whom I work are interested in understanding and addressing not only certain specific emergent problems such as those associated with adjustment and relationship difficulties, depression, and anxiety, but also the underlying thoughts, feelings, and behavioral and relational patterns that have contributed to the development of these problems. Through a collaborative, empathic psychotherapeutic process, these individuals, couples, and families expand and utilize their skills, strengths, and self-understanding in order to live more meaningful and rewarding lives.

I am passionate about working with couples, families, and highly sensitive individuals. My goal as a therapist is to help facilitate the process of healing by empowering my clients to create environments in which they can thrive emotionally, mentally and physically.

We are only scheduling new clients with our Student Intern, Sandy Kraniak(see her picture below), all other schedules are full. Her preferred clients are women and men who are survivors of child abuse and neglect or persons dealing with issues of grief or loss at any age. Allow us to work with you to help you identify and increase your strengths, self-knowledge, and healthy coping skills. Therapy will also allow you to build your resilience and skills for processing past hurts and problem-solving for a better future. Call to schedule a 15-minute initial consultation with a therapist to discuss your mental health goals.

With my clients, I build a therapeutic alliance that allows me to understand each client’s environment, challenges, and goals. The foundation for therapy is a collaborative, supportive, professional relationship with my client. Intersectional and feminist approaches are integral to my work. I am passionate about helping individuals navigate their identity and orientation.

Crises, transitions, and old patterns that no longer serve you can be daunting when you try to navigate them alone. I work to support you and/or family in discovering what you need and want in your life, by offering a kind, nonjudgmental space to attend to all the parts of you that you want to explore. While I work with a wide range of issues in my practice with individuals and families, I specialize in helping those experiencing anxiety, difficult situations or transitions in their lives, as well as those with ongoing mental health diagnoses.

I'm a psychotherapist working with people who are ready to make positive changes in their life but somehow continue to feel stuck. If you want to learn strategies for healing from the mental, emotional and lifestyle issues that hold you back, then I can help. If you understand that therapy is a process and not a magic pill, I am here to support you on your path of exploration.

Change is the only constant in life: we live in a complex, busy, and changing world that presents a variety of challenges, as well as opportunities, in our everyday lives. Our biological and psychological makeup, as well as our cultural, social, and family backgrounds and support systems, has a lot to do with the ways we deal with these challenges.

You can learn to raise yourself...to enhance the positive aspects of life and build resilience in the face of adversity. The therapeutic relationship is tool to gain self knowledge, acceptance and access to your own wisdom. Therapy does not take difficulties in life away. Instead, you change your relationship to them. You learn the difference between the kind of suffering that is natural and unavoidable from the kind of suffering that is self inflicted. With this growing awareness inner strength and respect for yourself grows. Little by little you uproot destructive patterns and come back to life.

My client has the answers they need inside of them, they just need some outside perspective. Most of my clients have experienced trauma in their lives in some form, and struggled with finding themselves or finding meaning in their life experience afterward. I enjoy navigating and exploring the full-range of human experience including issues pertaining to identity and sexuality, unearthing fears and anxieties, boundary setting, and building expression in all areas of life.

I work with people who have been made to feel guilty and ashamed by the world around us. We might say they are depressed or anxious or we could say they’re experiencing the negative effects of patriarchy, racism, ableism, transphobia, toxic work cultures, invalidating family environments, etc. These experiences can be incredibly isolating and reaching out is hard when we have been told that our emotions are a weakness to be feared. I provide a non-judgmental space to name and process the grief inherent in these experiences. I do this work because I like helping people relearn how to trust their emotions and love themselves.

You are exhausted from holding it together all the time. It feels too much to hold. You avoid situations that remind you of the bad thing that happened. You constantly feel like you are on alert, like you are looking over your shoulder for a threat. You question if you are deserving of love and connection. You feel unlovable and as though there is something wrong with you. It seems like you have lost your way, but you know there is more to you than your past. You are ready to heal and motivated to reach your potential. You know this is the time for change but you aren't sure where to turn or what to do.

Please book a free consultation at vanderlcsw.com. The cave you fear to enter, holds the treasure you seek. Please allow me to be a fellow traveler on your journey into the unknown parts of yourself. I'll ask for a deep commitment from you to participate in this process of self-discovery and self-healing. I believe that everyday stress has roots in your past. It is important for us to bravely move into those spaces when you are ready. Your sense of safety is vital in this process and we will develop our therapeutic alliance so you feel grounded beforehand. With deep trust for one another, we can bring about lasting transformations.