Anna Grace Mixon

My journey to Optimum Joy starts with books. When I was young, I escaped into books where I discovered characters of all shapes and sizes. What I loved about these characters was their complexity, their contradictions, and their raw humanness. These characters had stories and backgrounds that shaped their personalities, motivations, coping strategies, flaws, and strengths. And as I began to fall in love with these characters, I began to long for people to read my story in a book. I was convinced that if they read me in a book, my anger, my sadness, my sense of humor, my dreams, my strengths, my flaws, and my defense mechanisms would make sense to them.

As I got older, I began to engage with different kinds of stories––stories of trauma and abuse, stories of people who feel misunderstood, or chronically alone, stories of people with persistent body shame, stories of church hurt and spiritual abuse, and stories of attachment wounds from childhood. Everyone has a story that deserves a quiet witness. So, I would be honored to hear your story in all of its complexity and nuance, and together we can write new chapters that contain hope and healing.

So many people wonder if they’re the ‘right’ kind of person for therapy. Listen, I get that because I was one of them! Therapy is for everyone. Whether you are reeling from spiritual, physical, or sexual abuse, enduring racial or other forms of trauma, fighting body shame, healing from childhood wounds, fighting off scary thoughts, or desiring more intimacy in your relationships, you are invited to begin the journey of therapy. Sometimes our bodies signal to us that something’s off through sweaty palms, headaches, a fast heartbeat, or a pit in our stomach. Maybe you forgot you had a body! You might feel numbness or dissociated from the world around you. While therapy is not a cure-all, it can serve as a container for all your big emotions, scary thoughts, and existential questions. It can serve as a catalyst for change on your journey of becoming more ‘you.’

You know the saying, “It gets worse before it gets better?” That’s what you can expect therapy to be like. That’s why working together will mean safety, curiosity, and total acceptance. Uncovering parts of yourself you’ve hidden away from people is vulnerable and scary. While some sessions might leave you feeling a little exposed, we’ll also create room for laughter and joy in this process! It is my firm belief that healthy relationships can empower you to do hard things. And with the trust we build together, we can do just that.

It can be intimidating to reach out for help. It takes courage to take that first step. I look forward to journeying with you towards healing and change, so don’t hesitate to reach out to meet me.