Tiana Rapp-Anderson, Psy.D.

Dr. Tiana Anderson is a licensed psychologist and the founder of White Willow Psychological Services, PLLC. She earned her undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice from St. Joseph's College in New York. Initially working toward a degree in Criminal Justice, Dr. Anderson quickly recognized the overwhelming need for reform and mental health treatment in our overburdened justice systems and earned a bachelors degree in both Psychology and Criminal Justice with the goal of working as a psychologist to enact change. Dr. Anderson attended graduate school at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology where she earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Anderson's doctoral research focused on exploring secondary traumatic stress in mental health professionals providing care to juvenile-justice-involved youth and she is passionate about social justice and working with individuals involved with legal and correctional systems.

 

In 2020, Dr. Anderson founded White Willow Psychological Services to foster increased access to quality, comprehensive, compassionate mental health supports in Central Texas. She is passionate about connecting individuals seeking services with clinicians who are truly the best fit to support them on their path toward well-being and healing. Dr. Anderson loves supporting new and seasoned clinicians in the White Willow community and connecting like minded professionals in and out of the mental health space with one another to provide truly holistic, integrative supports to clients. 

 

In her own clinical work, Dr. Anderson has provided individual, group, and family therapy as well as crisis intervention and psychological assessment services in forensic, inpatient hospital, nonprofit, private practice, and correctional/juvenile justice settings, working with children, adolescents, adults, and families. Dr. Anderson’s primary areas of interest include trauma, adversity and resilience, animal assisted therapy, crisis intervention, chronic pain and chronic health conditions, women’s health, and forensic work. Currently, Dr. Anderson works with children, adolescents, and adults using a trauma-informed relational approach and integrates strengths-based, attachment-focused, client-centered, and emotion-focused concepts into the therapeutic space. She views the therapeutic relationship itself as paramount in providing a space for exploration, change, and healing. Dr. Anderson is passionate about accompanying clients on the journey of exploring and increasing insight into the experiences that have shaped them into who they are as human beings and that at times, contribute to experiences of suffering and struggle. She views therapy as a place to honestly and genuinely explore past and present experiences in the here-and-now, with the goal of growth toward a more fulfilling future. Her therapeutic approach is flexible, individualized, and culturally sensitive recognizing each client as the expert of their own lived experiences. A big-time animal lover and firm believer in the healing power of animals and human-animal interactions, Dr. Anderson participated in Texas State's Animal Assisted Counseling (AAC) Academy with her therapy partner and endlessly loving companion, Luna and the two have been certified as an Animal Assisted Counseling Team by Texas State’s Animal Assisted Counseling Academy. Animal Assisted Counseling is a goal directed process in which a trained mental health practitioner-animal team work together to help clients resolve mental health and behavioral challenges and achieve growth using the therapeutic powers of human-animal interaction. Together, Dr. Anderson and Luna take a strengths-based, genuine, and supportive approach to therapy and prioritize creating a safe space to establish a trusting relationship for exploration, growth, and healing. Dr. Anderson also conducts psychological evaluations, and provides supervision, consultation, and training. Dr. Anderson is licensed in both Maine and Texas. 

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Interested in learning more about animal assisted counseling and Dr. Rapp-Anderson's animal partner, Luna?