Anna Murphy , LMHC

Anna Murphy is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) practicing in Iowa with nine years of clinical experience across hospitals, schools, community mental health centers, and private agencies. She has worked with clients ranging in age from early childhood through older adulthood and has supported people facing persistent mental illness, mood and anxiety disorders, trauma and abuse, substance use concerns, grief and loss, and challenges managing intense emotions.

Her training includes a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa, where she majored in Psychology and Studio Arts with a minor in Sociology in 2012, and a Master of Science in Art Therapy and Counseling from The College of New Rochelle, completed in 2015. That combination of academic and hands-on experience informs a warm, interactive, and client-centered style of care in which the individual is regarded as the expert on their own life.

Anna draws from a range of evidence-informed methods, including trauma-informed practices, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and expressive modalities when appropriate, tailoring coping strategies and skill-building to each person’s needs. She works with a broad set of concerns including stress, self-esteem, relationship and family issues, addictions, LGBT-related matters, bipolar disorder, ADHD, grief, career and life transitions, and compassion fatigue, among others.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support

Anna Murphy draws from several practical therapies to support clients in online sessions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thought patterns and testing new behaviors to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills that can help people who struggle with intense emotions and relationship challenges. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a trauma-focused method that helps process distressing memories when trauma is a central concern.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Anna works with each person to explore goals, preferences, and what feels most useful, adapting methods over time so the plan aligns with the client’s needs.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions by video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging make it easier to fit care into a busy life and to access licensed professionals from home or other locations. These options support consistent engagement, allow for different communication styles, and can make it simpler to practice skills between sessions.