Anita Sommers
Clinical Experience
Anita Sommers is a Systemic Family Therapist providing individual therapy, couple therapy, and family therapy since 2004. Prior to entering into private practice in 2018, Anita served as Specialist Clinician for Children's Social Care by the Cambridgeshire County Council. In this position she worked with social workers to develop systems perspectives to ensure every facet of the client’s needs are discussed and all factors are considered to ensure effective interventions are implemented.
She has also created detailed assessments and treatment plans for young people with a wide variety of mental health challenges as a Day Treatment Clinician at KidsPeace New England.
As Program Director of Healthy Within, a clinic in San Diego, California, Anita treated individuals struggling with an eating disorder and other co-morbid diagnoses such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Depression, Personality Disorders, and addictions. She has conducted individual, group and family sessions to treat these disorders using both Systemic and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques. She has also participated in community outreach to raise awareness of eating disorders, body image and self-esteem issues in schools and college campuses.
Anita has spent her entire career helping individuals address issues including anxiety, stress, self-esteem, perfectionism, career issues, anger management, conflict resolution, depression, bereavement, eating disorders, and relationship issues.
Philosophy
“When working with individuals, couples, and families, I take the stance that the client is an expert of their own life. My role is to encourage curiousity both within the client and myself to gain new understanding about yourself and your relationship. This allows the opportunity to make necessary changes to improve the quality of your life and your relationships.”
Qualifications and Training
Anita holds a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Edgewood College (Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A) and a Supervision Diploma for Systemic Therapy from the Institute of Family Therapy. She is a registered member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)*.
Anita’s diverse training and experience enable her to work from an integrative base, drawing from various modalities including Systemic Theory, Attachment Theory, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy/Techniques, and The Gottman Method.
UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) membership is the hallmark for high standards of training, professional and ethical practice.