Anchored Counseling LLC

01/24/2026

Here are the last 10 days of the couples reset challenge.

For the first 20 days, check out the highlight on this account or the feed. It is also available in the profile link as a free downloadable PDF during the month of February ❤️

01/18/2026

2016 -> 2026 is a RIDE

If 2016 me knew that things would look like this in 2026, I'm not sure how she would respond. She definitely would never believe what I told her about 2020.

Since 2016 I've come a long way

Youth pastor ➡️ Q***r couples therapist
Ally ➡️ Open and honest (and out loud) member of the LGBTQIA+
Dating "Brad" ➡️ Married to the best woman I know
Trapped ➡️ Finally free

I know I'm where I want to be. I know I had to be all the versions of myself I was through those years in between. And I guess I wouldn't do it differently.
That doesn't mean undoing internalized homophobia, internalized misogyny, letting go of the majority of my friendships, and risking everything I thought I'd built didn't (and doesn't) hurt still sometimes.

I guess that's how healing works though, right?

01/14/2026

The Unlikely Story of How I Ended Up as a Q***r Couples Therapist (And Why It Matters to You) -

Well, strap in. Because you're about to get the unvarnished truth of how I went from Youth Pastor to Business Owner, Therapist, and Specialist in LGBTQIA+ Relationships.

12/31/2025

Well I didn’t exactly thrive this year.

Lots of it I just survived.

I didn’t finish everything I said I would.

I didn’t become the version of myself I pictured in January.

Some patterns showed up again. Some goals stalled. Some relationships were harder than I expected.

And instead of pretending that means I failed, I’m naming it for what it was:

a year that asked more than I had planned for.

If this year didn’t look like growth for you, 

if it looked like keeping your head above water,
regulating your nervous system,
showing up imperfectly,
or just getting through,
you have nothing to be ashamed of. 

You were responding to reality.

So if you’re willing, I want to hear it.

👇 What’s one place you didn’t hit the mark this year?

Not to shame it.

Not to fix it.

Just to say it out loud.

I’ll start in the slides.

Your turn in the comments.

(And if commenting feels like too much, even letting yourself name it privately counts.)

10/24/2025

Myths and Fears -

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.- Plato

07/27/2025

I know why you still haven't booked a therapy appointment.

You also know why.

But the job of the therapist in the room with you and your partner is NOT to tell you if you are going to "make it" or not.

Your therapist's job is to help you and your partner work through your current relationship stressors, help you find the reasons you keep coming back to the same arguments again and again & resolve the things that can be resolved so the relationship can move forward.

If you are worried about a therapist thinking negatively about you or or partner (or your relationship) let me try to put you at ease.

Yes couples who come in doing these things are typically in a more cooperative and "ready to heal" space, I ALSO see these signs when a relationship is healing and becoming stronger.

So if you aren't sure that you are currently willing to face one another when having the hard conversations, or attending to one another while in therapy, or even if you aren't sure that therapy ISNT you or your partner's last real try to repair the relationship, those aren't reasons to not book the appointment.

🤔 Interested in working with a relationship therapist who is also a real human 💁🏻‍♀️? I have some openings for couples starting immediately. Check out the link in my bio, comment LET'S GO here, or DM me for more details on how to work together.

Not quite ready for 1:1 therapy? There's nothing wrong with that, and I still want you to have tools to help your relationship.

P.S. Curious about my other resources? Check out my bio for my Amazon storefront, partnerships, and all things therapy-related!

Reminder: Social media is for education and connection, but it’s no substitute for working directly with a licensed therapist.

***rrelationships

07/11/2025

Send this to the person you thought of when you read it...

Or save this for yourself because you KNOW you get this twisted up, especially when you are getting into it with your partner.

I can tell you, as a relationship therapist, that when arguments between partners happen many people say (in hindsight) that they don't know why they felt so attacked.

They know their partner isn't coming for them. But they can't help feeling like they have to defend themselves.

This right here is a lot of the reason why. Especially for so many who grow up religious, grow up q***r and heteronormative society, or both, you're taught that if you're just good enough you can be accepted and loved no matter what else you have going on.

And maybe that was actually true in your family of origin. But that should not be true with your partner. And so often if we can just let go of the idea that our partner seeing us as right means that we are good we can usually meet in the middle on things and resolve conflicts so much faster.

And wouldn't that just be lovely for everyone?

Follow 👉 ***rtherapist for expert relationship advice, LGBTQIA+ insights, and mental health tips from someone who’s been where you are.

💾 Save this post for when you’re ready, and 📲 share it with someone who needs to hear this today.

P.S. Curious about my other resources? Check out my bio for my Amazon storefront, partnerships, and all things therapy-related!

Reminder: Social media is for education and connection, but it’s no substitute for working directly with a licensed therapist.

***rTherapist ***rCouples

07/08/2025

✨It’s my birthday, so I’m dropping the 10 realest things I’ve learned this year about relationships, love, and life.✨
(Some of them I learned the hard way. Some I’m still learning. All of them feel true.)

💬Swipe through for the full list or read below. If something hits—let me know in the comments.👇

🧠💔 Here’s what this year taught me:

1. Presence > perfection.

2. If love requires silence, it’s not love.

3. Compatibility is about how we repair.

4. Deconstruction = reclaiming my gut.

5. Growth always comes with grief.

6. Desire doesn’t have to be logical to be valid.

7. Boundaries are a form of healing.

8. I’m not here to be easy to love—I’m here to be real.

9. Q***r love = intentional love.

10. No one is more qualified to lead my life than me.

🎉 I’ve laughed, cried, questioned everything, and come home to myself more this year than ever before.
And I’m not done.

🪩✨ Tell me:
Which one hits you right in the gut today?
Or what’s your biggest lesson from this past year?

Follow along for more content from a q***r relationship therapist who is just trying to help support her community while we all figure it out together.

👇Drop it in the comments—I wanna know.
***rtherapist ***rtherapist

07/04/2025

Partner, Family, children, friends, it doesn't matter whose peace you are preserving.

If it's not yours, it will come expense.

When you grow up q***r and especially if you grew up q***r and religious, you were taught that your needs should come last and that's how you'd be accepted.

That's just NOT true though. And you don't have to put yourself last if you don't want to.

Drop a comment if this sounds familiar. Or if you are ready to stop doing this.

This is the work. And it’s so worth it.

🌈 If you grew up with religion, perfectionism, or “good girl” pressure, it makes sense that secure love feels… unfamiliar. But it’s not out of reach.

🧠 Want more tools for LGBTQIA+ relationships and healing from religious trauma? You’re in the right place.

🔁 Save this for the next time you need a reminder.
💬 Drop a “YES” in the comments if you’re doing this kind of work too.
📲 Follow for more support around q***r relationships, communication, and recovering from harmful belief systems.

🤔 Interested in working with a relationship therapist who is also a real human 💁🏻‍♀️? I have some openings for couples starting in March. Check out the link in my bio, comment LET'S GO here, or DM me for more details on how to work together.

Not quite ready for 1:1 therapy? There's nothing wrong with that, and I still want you to have tools to help your relationship.

P.S. Curious about my other resources? Check out my bio for my Amazon storefront, partnerships, and all things therapy-related!

Reminder: Social media is for education and connection, but it’s no substitute for working directly with a licensed therapist.

***rrelationships

06/28/2025

So now that you have heard me out, what do you think are some hard truths about q***r relationships that I missed?

Feel free to drop them below, I'd love to make more content around the things YOU are actually dealing with right now.

🧠 Want more tools for LGBTQIA+ relationships and healing from religious trauma? You’re in the right place.

🔁 Save this for the next time you need a reminder.
💬 Drop a “YES” in the comments if you’re doing this kind of work too.
📲 Follow for more support around q***r relationships, communication, and recovering from harmful belief systems.

🤔 Interested in working with a relationship therapist who is also a real human 💁🏻‍♀️? I have some openings for couples starting immediately. Check out the link in my bio, comment LET'S GO here, or DM me for more details on how to work together.

Not quite ready for 1:1 therapy? There's nothing wrong with that, and I still want you to have tools to help your relationship.

P.S. Curious about my other resources? Check out my bio for my Amazon storefront, partnerships, and all things therapy-related!

Reminder: Social media is for education and connection, but it’s no substitute for working directly with a licensed therapist.

***rrelationships

06/20/2025

Social media is great for visibility AND it can also lead many people to feel lonely and isolated, especially when comparing their lives to curated samples of the lives of other people.

We never know what is going on in the lives (or minds) of other people. Whether it is people we love or influencers we admire from afar, this is true.

The message here, friends, is that we are all just trying to figure it out every day. Whether it is laundry, kids, marriage, dating, breakups, dinner plans, work changes, moving states, changing jobs, family planning, vacations, big and repetitive or random and one off arguments...we are all just trying to figure it out.

If you are looking for support figuring it out, I am taking on new clients starting immediately. Comment "let's go" here or DM me for details, or check out my link in bio.

Make sure you save this post as a reminder that the comparison game is t worth the effort it takes ❤️

Not quite ready for 1:1 therapy? Follow 👉 ***rtherapist for expert relationship advice, LGBTQIA+ insights, and mental health tips from someone who’s been where you are.

💾 Save this post for when you’re ready, and 📲 share it with someone who needs to hear this today.

P.S. Curious about my other resources? Check out my bio for my Amazon storefront, partnerships, and all things therapy-related!

Reminder: Social media is for education and connection, but it’s no substitute for working directly with a licensed therapist.

***rTherapist ***rCouples