Psychotherapist
UK: MBACP 01015999
California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Board of Behavioral Sciences, California #130947
American Art Therapy Board, Registred Art Therapist #21-349
About Me
Welcome to my practice!
I'm Merisa Hannington, a member of UK BACP, a Licensed Marriage and Therapist in California and a Registered Art Therapist with the American Art Therapist Credentials Board, Inc.
I have experience working with teens, adults, and families, focusing on issues such as addiction, anxiety, PTSD, low self-esteem, and relationship challenges. I facilitate therapy sessions by exploring and identifying how these issues affect your relationships with yourself, others, and the world around you.
As your therapist, my goal is to enhance your self-awareness, while improving your relationships (especially with yourself), and help you manage your emotions. We will explore your triggers, emotional responses, thought patterns, and behaviors.
I believe that emotional healing occurs by looking at your thoughts objectively and searching for alternative ways to think and behave, which will improve your emotional health.
Specializing in Art Therapy, Addiction, Anxiety, Relationships, PTSD.
Art Therapy
Art Therapy offers a unique way explore and communicate your emotions through various art forms. In sessions lasting 10-20 minutes, a therapist will guide you in expressing your feelings and thoughts by creating art. They will ask insightful questions about your creations, helping to uncover meanings and connections. Remember you don’t need artistic skills to benefit from this process—just trust in journey of self-expression.
Relationships
The first relationship to focus on is your relationship with yourself. If you're living with a self-critic in your head, you're probably more likely to be critical towards others... get it?
Let's be real, some people are difficult and every relationship is different. This is where challenging thinking patterns, behaviors and communication skill building comes in.
Addiction
Many people struggle with addictive behaviors. This can range from drug addiction, alcoholism, co-dependency, gambling, spending, sex, food, love, etcetera. People with addiction often suffer from obsessive thinking and compulsive behavior, relationship issues and difficulty identifying emotions.
PTSD
Trauma is defined as a situation where you felt your life was at risk, witnessing another's life be at risk, verbal, psychological, sexual, emotional, physical abuse.
When a stressful event happens, your body goes into survival mode: fight, flight or freeze. PTSD is a result of your body and mind continuing to react as though there's a threat when you are actually safe.
Some PTSD symptoms are: nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, feeling on-edge or hypervigilance, making efforts to avoid people or places of the event, blocked out memories, intrusive memories.
Anxiety
Anxiety can range from social anxiety, fears, excessive worrying, racing thoughts, stomach issues, phobias, panic attacks, shakiness, future tripping, "what ifs," feeling on edge, hypervigilance, restlessness, sleep problems, increased heart rate, muscle tension, heart palpitations. Anxiety interferes with relationships and frequently results in avoidant behaviors.
Teens
Teenage years are crucial to healthy development into adulthood. Therapy helps adolescents form identity, gain an understanding of themselves, learn social skills, improve relationships with parents and learn new behaviors that they can carry into adulthood. Teens carry stress of school, social media, bullying, exposure to drug use, while going through puberty. Therapy helps teens build self-esteem, healthy relationships and identity formation.