Author: Ann Schiebert
Dear Colleague,
Greetings! Last month I announced the release of my new book in the Let’s Make a Contract series: Getting Your Teen Past the Opioid Epidemic. Since its release I’ve received numerous emails and phone calls asking for help. Just last week a frantic mother called me about her seventeen-year-old daughter who just got out of rehab after completing a sixty-day residential treatment program. This caller said, “She’s back to doing everything she used to do before she went to treatment! What shall I do?” This parent wanted to meet me privately. She could not meet with me where I work because she was not a member of the HMO.
For a good many years, I’ve resisted the notion of having a private psychotherapy practice because I work full time at one of the country’s largest and most respected HMOs, and that, combined with my book writing and my radio program, “Dr. Ann’s Relationship Radio,” takes up most of my time. But as the recent emails asking for help flooded my inbox and phone messages clogged my voicemail, it broke my heart to respond to these requests by telling people that I couldn’t see them.
Recently, a wonderful reporter interviewed me for one of our local newspapers, the Lamorinda Weekly. I was honored to have my story told. The article prompted more requests for help, and I decided that denying help was untenable. My experiences, education, and twenty-year career have primed me to assist others to find solutions for what seems to be impossible and overwhelming problems. So I rethought my position and decided to open a private practice. Due to my other responsibilities, it will be limited to three mornings per week and occasional Sunday afternoons. I will be offering trauma treatment, help for unhappy relationships, a codependency group, chemical dependency therapy, and guidance with mental health issues, as well as help with everyday problems that challenge many of us. For more information, please visit my website at drannschiebert.com.
I’m so happy and excited about my decision to create a safe place to discuss difficult challenges with patients. As I say at the end of each and every one of my radio programs, “Only you can create your world the way you want it to be.” It’s become a mantra in my life because it’s so true!
Wishing you the best as always,