Andrew Anderson Therapy
Licensed Professional Counseling
ABOUT
For & With Others
I became a therapist because I’ve always believed in people. In their capacity to grow, to surprise themselves, to find their way toward something better. That belief has become the throughline of my entire adult life — first in a classroom, and now in a counseling room.
Where I started
My career began in education. I completed my undergraduate degree at Fordham University and spent nearly a decade teaching English and Psychology — standing in front of classrooms, watching young people discover what they were capable of. I loved it deeply. Teaching asked of me: patience, creativity, presence, the willingness to meet each person exactly where they were. I gave it everything I had.
And then, in my late twenties, my own life got hard. Quietly, significantly hard. I found myself watching my students graduate and step into their futures, and I felt something stir in me — equal parts sadness and inspiration. A longing to begin something new for myself.
So I left. I backpacked through Europe for months. I entered therapy myself for the first time. I took the time I needed to grieve what I was leaving and to listen for what was next.
What I heard was: keep supporting others. Just differently.
Becoming a Counselor
I returned to school and completed my Master’s degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology at William Paterson University. During my clinical training, I interned with a New Jersey-based nonprofit mental health organization, providing counseling both in-person and virtually across the state. After graduating, I continued working with that organization while also contracting with several group practices, serving a wide range of populations: children, families, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, adults with disabilities, and people on Medicare and Medicaid.
I learned quickly that this work — like teaching — is fundamentally about being present with and attuned to another human being and trying, as best you can, to support.
Discovering IFS
During this time, I completed a specialized, months-long training in Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy — and it changed everything.
I didn’t just learn how to deliver IFS. I experienced it from the inside.
During a training session, the lead trainer guided me in a personal demonstration in front of the group. I found something I hadn’t known was there: a very young part of me, small and alone, standing in a field inside myself. My body shook as I approached it. It was hard. But with my trainer’s steady, compassionate guidance, I was able to go toward it — to really see it, to stay with it, to begin a relationship with it that I carry forward to this day.
I walked away knowing, in a way I hadn’t before, what it means to be held in this work. To feel what it’s like when someone helps you go somewhere you couldn’t go alone — and to find that you can.
I will always be grateful for that experience. And I work to offer something like it to every person who sits with me.
IFIO and Couples Work
Most recently, I completed an intensive, four-month training in Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO) therapy — an extension of IFS designed specifically for couples. I loved it. The training was deeply experiential, and repeatedly, I found myself moved by the power of the model — the way it helps partners truly hear each other, to step out from behind their protective parts and speak from a softer, more honest place.
I know from my own life how hard that can be in the middle of fast-moving days. I know how much it matters when you can actually do it. And I’m now trained to help couples get there.
How I Show Up
I am warm. I am patient. I do not judge — and this is not a small thing. So many people come to therapy carrying the fear that they will be evaluated, categorized, or found wanting. My job, as I understand it, is to make that fear unnecessary.
You are welcome here as you are.
I believe therapy is most alive when it’s also a little like play — when we can be curious together, try things, see what emerges. I want clients who are ready to work, because I believe the work pays off. But I also believe there’s room for laughter, for lightness, for the unexpected moment that shifts something loose.
My approach continues to evolve as I grow, train, and learn. What stays constant is this: I show up for you. I try my hardest to deliver these models. And I have deep faith that this work truly helps.
A Little About Me
Outside the office, I’m grounded in family and close friendships. I move my body through volleyball and yoga. I’m part of online gaming communities. I love art that moves me — the kind of story, or film, or piece of music, that touches you in its vulnerability and realness.
I like helping people feel known. And I think that’s at the heart of why I do this work.
Credentials
Licensure
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) — New Jersey
Education
William Paterson University — M.A., Clinical & Counseling Psychology
Fordham University — B.A., Communication & Media Studies
Specialized Trainings
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) — Individual Therapy Training
- Completed IFS Training Levels 1 & 2 from the Center for Self-Leadership
- Completed IFS Training Levels 1 & 2 from the Center for Self-Leadership
- Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO) — Couples Therapy Training
- Completed IFIO Training with Intimacy from the Inside Out LLC
- Completed IFIO Training with Intimacy from the Inside Out LLC
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — Child Mind Institute
Clinical Experiences
Individual and group counseling
Couples and family counseling
In-home community counseling
School counseling
Diverse populations including adults, adolescents, families, LGBTQ+, veterans, neurodivergent, and people with disabilities
I’d love to hear from you.