Hello! It is with great excitement that I announce the official opening of my counseling practice. My name is Ann Marie Hefferan, founder of In The Now Counseling.
My office is in the historic Clark House in Washington, Pennsylvania. It’s located at 2085 Park Avenue, Suite 202. The office is approximately 3 miles from the Chestnut Street exit of Interstate 70 (about 4 minutes by car).
The Clark House is a restored farmhouse that sits on a lovely piece of property. The building sits back from the road and is surrounded by grass and trees. I hope you will find my office to be warm and inviting. There is ample free parking just steps from the door.
My counseling practice is geared toward women and the issues they face in marriage/romantic relationships, motherhood, and caregiving roles.
I am passionate about the struggles women encounter in these roles due to my own experience as a teenage mother, wife, and someone who has dealt with infertility, severe postpartum depression, anxiety, juggling the demands of work and motherhood, career-change and becoming a caregiver to an adult child who recently sustained a significant physical disability.
I have lived all but two years of my life in the Pittsburgh area. I come from a close-knit family of seven girls (third in the birth order) and a large extended family. Due to my natural curiosity and interest in my sisters’ lives, I became the go-to sister for guidance when we were growing-up on matters surrounding friendships, boyfriends, jobs, and college applications, among other things.
After twenty years of working in corporate America, I made a long-anticipated career change. I had been unhappy for most of my career because I was doing work that wasn’t suited for me. After getting years of feedback from co-workers, close friends and family that I should be a therapist due to my ability to listen and connect with people, as well as my instinct to empathize and advocate for those I served, I finally reached a point where I was able to make a change to the field of counseling.
I’m proud to be a second generation therapist following in the footsteps of my father who also made a career-change into the counseling field after teaching for 20 years in a public high school. I was fortunate to be raised by excellent parents who instilled in me a strong work ethic, family and moral values, but even with this advantage, I have learned that life can be extremely difficult and at times the challenges can seem too great to navigate alone.
I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 25 years and in a relationship for 30 years. At times I feel like we’re just starting out in our life together, but when I reflect on the struggles we’ve endured, the hard times we’ve overcome and the number of joyous occasions we’ve celebrated together, I’m quickly reminded that this is not the case. I’m grateful to have grown-up with him.
We have an adult daughter and teenage son. We became parents to our daughter at the beginning of our sophomore year of college and that is when I got my first real dose of how life can get complicated and just plain hard. As difficult as motherhood can be at times, it has taught me to love like nothing else.
When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter at the age of 19, I transferred to the University of Pittsburgh from the college I was attending out of town. I had to move back home because I needed the help of my family. With their incredible support, I was able to complete my bachelor’s degree in communication. Years later I earned my master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from Assumption College. I am a licensed professional counselor in Pennsylvania and a certified rehabilitation counselor.
My professional work experience in counseling includes working with teenage mothers at a non-profit organization for women dealing with unplanned pregnancies, counseling high school students in a special education program at an inner-city high school, working as in intake counselor at a non-profit counseling center and counseling adolescents and adults with disabilities at a state vocational rehabilitation office.
I’m so happy to be moving into this next phase of my career. I strive to have a practice where you will feel safe and comfortable. My hope is that when you enter my office, you can take a deep breath and relax, knowing you will be listened to without judgment. I look forward to serving the women of the Washington and Pittsburgh areas.
If you feel I might be a good fit as a therapist for you or someone you know, I hope you will reach out to me. You can stay in contact with me via this blog, email at inthenowcounseling@gmail.com or by calling (724) 503-6670.
