EP 279: Love Yourself First® — A Therapist’s Guide to Inner Peace: Anne Chester's™ Journey

EP 279: What Makes Anne Chester™ with Anne Chester™, LCSW a Good Neighbor?

Finding mental health support in your community just got easier. In this heartfelt episode, What Makes Anne Chester™ with Anne Chester™, LCSW a Good Neighbor?, we meet Anne Chester™, a seasoned therapist with over 20 years of experience, passionate about helping people find clarity, healing, and a deeper sense of self.

Anne provides individual counseling for adolescents and adults navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Her approach is compassionate and down-to-earth, blending evidence-based modalities like Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and EMDR to support meaningful and lasting change.

Anne shares her inspiring journey from aspiring teacher to trusted therapist, revealing how a mentor’s insightful comment about her natural connection with students and families shifted the course of her life. “That was one of the best pieces of advice I ever received in my life,” Anne reflects, now 21 years into a thriving private practice.

Together, we challenge a persistent myth: that therapy is only for those in crisis. Anne believes you don’t have to be in crisis to benefit from therapy. Sometimes it’s simply about making space to breathe, reflect, and explore what life could feel like with more support. She meets each client with curiosity, compassion, and deep respect—no matter where they are on their journey.

With specialties in trauma recovery and modalities like ART, CBT, IFS, and EMDR, Anne helps clients move beyond surface symptoms to uncover and heal core wounds.

To those facing life’s hard moments, Anne offers a compassionate reminder: “You don’t have to do this alone.” She emphasizes the danger of isolation and the power of supportive connection. Her philosophy is rooted in self-compassion and personal growth—therapy isn’t about fixing brokenness, but uncovering what’s possible when we create space for healing.

As she beautifully says, when we learn to love ourselves and others, “the rest of the fruits of the spirit start to flow.”

To learn more about Anne Chester™, go to: annechester.com

 Anne Chester, LCSW, PA™

1-817-939-7884

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a mentalhealth private practice?
Well, one may be closer thanyou think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
ann Chester, with Ann Chester,lcswpa.
Ann, how are you today?

Speaker 3 (00:28):
I am doing well.
How are you Sophia?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
I'm also doing well and we are so excited to learn
all about you and your business.
Can you start by telling ourlisteners just a little bit
about your company?

Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yes, but first I want to say thank you so much for
having me on.
I'm so excited.
I love being a therapist, Ilove talking about it, so this
is really fun.
I started my counselingpractice in 2004.
I just have a desire to helppeople heal and grow.
I love what I do and I lovepeople.
I offer individual counselingservices for adolescents and

(01:04):
adults.
I primarily treat trauma,anxiety and depression, and I
love just providing acompassionate and safe space for
people to sit down and talkabout their challenges.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
So, anne, how did you originally get into this
business?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
I went to college, oddly enough, to become a a
teacher and I started all theinternships you do as a teacher.
When I got in the classroom Irealized just how much I hated
lesson planning, teaching,grading, classroom management,
but what I really loved was theplayground and the family

(01:43):
interactions and the socialdynamics.
I love the kids and buildingrelationships with their
families, and the teacher Iworked with noticed that and
encouraged me to go into thecounseling side of things
instead of teaching.
You know what?
That was one of the best piecesof advice I ever received in my
life and so I pursued that.
And here we are 26 yearspost-graduations.

(02:05):
I've had a license for 26 yearsand I'm 21 years into private
practice and I love my job and Ilove seeing people and it just
feels like such a big privilege.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, anne, it sounds like you are a wealth of
knowledge.
So, on that note, what is themost common myth or
misconception you come across inyour industry?

Speaker 3 (02:26):
So, whether it's friends in the neighborhood or
people I run into on the street,one of the biggest things is
counseling is only for peoplewith serious mental problems.
And that's not true becausecounseling most of the people
that come into my privatepractice are people like you and
me that are just averageeveryday folks and they're
navigating stress.

(02:47):
They're navigating transitions,grief, anxiety, loss,
relationship challenges and andwanting personal growth.
You don't have to be in anykind of crisis to benefit and
you don't have to have a seriousdiagnosis to get help.
My, my goal as a counselorhonestly is to help you get
where you need to go andgraduate you, so it doesn't have

(03:10):
to be some long-term process.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
Who are your target patients and, in terms of
marketing, how do you currentlyattract them?

Speaker 3 (03:19):
So most of my patients are adults and they
navigate a lot of trauma and alot of anxiety and depression.
And it's not necessarily thebig T trauma like combat or you
know, my house burned down,maybe it's just a series of
events, maybe a toxicrelationship, a toxic job, just

(03:41):
maybe some family stuff going on.
My favorite modes of therapyare accelerated resolution
therapy, which is similar toEMDR but different in that it
goes in and uses the bilateralstimulation to help with
traumatic or bad memories.
I use a lot of cognitivebehavioral therapy, which goes
in and says what is that thingthat you believe, those thoughts

(04:04):
that you have that are kind ofholding you up.
I love acceptance, commitment,internal family systems and I
also do EMDR, and so I reallywork to help clients go in and
say, okay, what's the route andhow do we move past that?
And the way I usually attractclients is from client referrals
.
And then I do have a websiteand I have a Facebook page and I

(04:28):
actually really like to write alittle blog.
So I keep that up to date andjust write kind of some thoughts
and things that I think arefascinating and hope that other
people benefit from it, and sothat's kind of how I run my
business and I work with otherprofessionals.
I get referrals that way too.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
So, and getting into things a bit deeper, what is the
best advice you have for ourlisteners here who are trying to
ground themselves while goingthrough traumatic situations or
swimming their way upstream indifficult situations?

Speaker 3 (05:06):
So the biggest thing I would say to people is you
don't have to do this alone.
I think when we're goingthrough bad situations, we often
feel like a burden and it'shard to get past our own
perspectives and emotions andwhere we are in that moment

(05:26):
perspectives and emotions andwhere we are in that moment but
recognizing that every humanbeing that we come across it
doesn't matter who they are hastheir own set of struggles, and
so you don't have to go it alone.
Not that you're necessarilygoing to process your issues on
friends, but isolating and notaddressing them just makes you
feel worse and it makes you sick.
So have a good support system,reach out, find some friends,

(05:50):
find a counselor, find somepeople that you trust to work
with, because you don't have tobe isolated.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
And so have you ever thought about having your very
own podcast?
And you have quite a bit ofhelpful information.

Speaker 3 (06:09):
I would love to, but have no idea how to get started.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
And what is one thing you would like our listeners to
remember today about AnchesterLCSWPA?

Speaker 3 (06:24):
One thing I really wish people knew about my
business and about counseling ingeneral is that it's really not
about fixing people or, youknow, getting rid of something.
It's about creating a space toheal.
It's about growth andself-compassion, and you really
just don't have to be fallingapart to come in.

(06:45):
You just need to be curiousabout what life could be like
with more support.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
And for our listeners who may be again interested in
going into counseling orcurrently struggling, what are
the most important fruits of thespirit you would say for them
to hold on to throughout thistime or to develop within
themselves?

Speaker 3 (07:07):
I love that the fruits of the spirit start with.
The fruits of the spirit islove, and I love that it starts
with love.
So when we find a space to loveourself and love others, we
also find the joy and the peace.
Now happiness is that thing.
That's contentment, a choice tobe satisfied.

(07:27):
I'm not happy when I go to afuneral, but I can experience
joy in most spaces in life and Iwould just encourage clients to
pursue a way to love themselvesand love others and just be
part of something bigger thanthemselves and out of that, I
think, the rest of the fruits ofthe spirit start to flow.

Speaker 2 (07:52):
And where is the best place for our listeners to go
to learn more about Ann ChesterLCSWPA?

Speaker 3 (08:01):
My website annchestercom.
Now my name has an E on it, soit's A-N-N-E Chester,
C-H-E-S-T-E-Rcom.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
Well, ann, I really appreciate you being on the show
today, and we wish you and yourbusiness the best moving
forward.

Speaker 3 (08:19):
Thank you so much.
Thank you for your time.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPFriscocom.
That's GNPFriscocom.
Or call 469-2214-5.