Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Meservy
Hi Anna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I got my start in social work after having graduated from University of TN and working an hourly wage job for awhile and realizing I needed more of a career path. I didn’t know much about the world of social work and mental health at the time but I knew it sounded like something I would enjoy and had a lot of job security so I started my graduate program at Wayne State University in Detroit. I was blessed to have both very intense field placements as well as incredible mentors to guide my learning. After graduating with my MSW I moved with my now husband down to Louisiana where he was starting his graduate program. I initially took a community mental health job however after a few months I heard about an opening in a school based program. I had sworn to myself I would only ever work with adults but I needed steadier income and consistent hours so I gave it a try. I provided school based mental health services to a caseload of middle school students and very quickly fell deeply in love with the job. There I was not only able to earn my Clinical licensure but I developed skills that have continued to serve me in my work with youth. In 2016 my husband and I, along with our toddler, quit our jobs and packed everything up and relocated back to Knoxville. We were beyond grateful to both quickly get jobs within the school system. I spent the next several years providing high level mental health supports, supporting program development, staff trainings and providing crisis response. I absolutely loved the fast paced, high acuity of the job and the incredible amount of love and energy that school staff pour in to caring for and educating our youth was amazing to be a part of. However after a total of 12 years working in the schools I found myself wanting more control over the services I offered. So in June of 2024 I took the steps to start my own business and have very quickly taken off in private practice and am enjoying every bit of what I am building.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Working in mental health is never a smooth road. I have always said that there is no better place to learn social work than Detroit and rural Louisiana is a very close second. While I have been blessed with incredible experiences that comes with seeing some of the most broken parts of our society as well as individuals and families trying to survive with so many odds stacked against them. Learning to provide self care for myself so that I can enter each client interaction with calm and focus has been difficult but makes all the difference in my ability to persist through personal and work challenges. Additionally our youth were hit extremely hard with the lasting social effects of the Covid pandemic and our school systems were not prepared for the massive uptick in mental health struggles students and staff are continuing to face. I again turn to my self care skills and granting myself grace in times of challenge. In this field you truly must practice what you preach in order to consistently offer clients a safe, calm and regulated space.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I started Resiliently Rooted to give myself more freedom to provide my therapeutic services in a way that I feel is most ethical and supportive to client growth. I absolutely love working with adolescents and young adults as they navigate that challenging transition from childhood to adulthood. I work to provide a very safe and supportive environment that helps individuals I am working with connect with their authentic self and discover how to listen to and make choices from their core sense of self so that they are able to enter adulthood with a strong identity and confidence in their ability to manage life’s stressors. My experience within school systems gives me the added skill set of understanding Special Education in schools and how to help families or individuals navigate supports for mental and emotional challenges that impede their access to learning in the school setting. This can be a very tricky world to navigate and there is nothing worse than a child losing hope because school becomes too overwhelming or feels unsafe; I love that I am able to offer education and guidance to help families get back on track to growth and success by securing specific supports and accommodations within the school. I am extremely proud of what I am building and able to offer my clients. I cannot over state just how honored and grateful I am to have the privilege of walking alongside my clients as they tap into their resilience and find their strength to build a life they love.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I was extremely lucky to have given birth to my son days before our community shut down due to Covid; my family was all set up for hunkering down with our newborn which is exactly what we were able to do. However as we all emerged from the shut downs and our schools reopened we realized the deep mental toll Covid-19 took on all of us but particularly our youth. We saw such drastic increases in mental health and behavioral issues in the schools; students struggling with severe anxiety, aggressive and angry behaviors, some were stuck in shut down mode and unable to engage in academics. Our systems were not prepared to support such a drastic increase in high acuity mental health issues with our youth. A large part of choosing to leave the school system and branch out in to private practice was due to the fact that we were just unable to meet the ever increasing needs of our students with the resources available. We are raising individuals who are having to navigate increasingly difficult social, environmental and general life events at younger and younger ages and mental health providers really sit in a privileged position of being able to provide really life changing supports to help our youth find their footing and grow in to adults who can make positive changes for our world.
Pricing:
- Individual Therapy $130
- Insurances accepted (BCBS, Aetna, Cigna)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.resilientlyrooted.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resiliently.rooted/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564811499880
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/anna-meservy-knoxville-tn/1379651
