Ferris Counseling is a private psychotherapy practice created in 2004 by Michael Ferris, LCSW and Anissa Ferris, LCSW to provide highly individualized treatment for adults and couples in the Triangle area. We are centrally located in the growing Midtown neighborhood of Raleigh and commonly see clients from Durham, Cary, Wake Forest, Rolesville, Morrisville, Apex, Holly Springs, Clayton, Chapel Hill, and Knightdale.
Emotional growth and symptom reduction are the primary focus in our work with you. However, we also endeavor to help you recognize destructive patterns that may be keeping you from further healing. Psychotherapy is a powerful asset to help you navigate difficult times and unexpected life changes. You do not have to walk through it alone.
Michael's Bio
Michael P. Ferris holds a Master in Social Work degree from the University at Buffalo (SUNY) and received his license to practice Clinical Social Work (LCSW) in 1999. In addition to private practice experience, Michael also has corporate experience in the Research Triangle Park enabling him to better connect with clients struggling to meet the intense demands of the world of work.
Michael treats his clients as unique individuals with their own distinctive concerns impacting their lives. He greatly honors the trust he is given by them to help them navigate difficult times and unexpected life changes. The decision to start the journey towards healing and reconciliation demonstrates a great deal of courage and resolve by you. Together we can discern a path towards a more balanced and joyful life.
Michael specializes in working with his adult clients to help them to understand how their internal life is interacting with outside stressors causing them to experience discomfort and impeding their personal growth. Michael also endeavors to help his clients learn to recognize and change unhelpful, distorted or unhealthy cognitive and behavioral patterns so that they do not repeat them in the future.
Michael commonly uses the Enneagram as one tool to accomplish these objectives. Michael has been a Certified Enneagram Instructor in the Enneagram Spectrum tradition since 2018. The Enneagram is effective at equipping you to improve your capacity to know yourself better. This, in turn, empowers you to know why you have been making decisions that may be undermining your personal progress and/or hindering growth in crucial relationships.
Michael also has over a decade of experience helping couples navigate their way to healthier relationships. This often includes working with them to improve their communication patterns through utilization of the Enneagram and the Myers-Briggs inventory. Michael commonly teaches couples to effectively engage in productive conflict while encouraging them to promote and accept grace for one another.
Many of Michael’s clients often learn that being vulnerable in psychotherapy is both difficult and risky. However, through our work together, the rewards for taking that next step forward frequently include improved mood; lower anxiety; healthier communication patterns; and greater clarity when making important decisions. Michael's special clinical interests include treating symptoms associated with anxiety and stress using Somatic-informed strategies.
Anissa'a Bio
Anissa was born and raised in Raleigh, NC. She completed her undergraduate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill and subsequently spent 2 years in Hungary teaching English, and leading Bible Studies, through an organization related to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Anissa completed her Masters in Social Work degree at East Carolina University. She subsequently worked for 6 years as a School Social Worker with the Wake County Public School System serving families in crisis.
In 1998, Anissa began her own psychotherapy practice focused on working with adolescent and adult women experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, and grief. She offers practical guidance to her clients by providing support and insights that help them to solve problems and achieve positive change. Her chief aim is to help them develop greater self-awareness so that they can make more conscious and useful choices that lead to a more fulfilling life.
Anissa has also been a Certified Enneagram Teacher in the Narrative/Oral tradition since 2013. Anissa finds the Enneagram very helpful in providing clients a paradigm for personal growth and lasting change. Anissa’s 2-day Enneagram workshops at local Raleigh churches are very popular and open to the public. Please contact her if you would like more information regarding her public speaking schedule in the future.
About
Michael and Anissa both earned Master of Social Work degrees and are Licensed Clinical Social Workers. We have been married since 1997 and share the common mission to work with you to provide an opportunity to remove obstacles in your life so that you can make healthy decisions that lead to reconciliation and healing. Therapy often promotes new ways of thinking and behaving that helps to foster personal growth, maturity, and an improved sense of being grounded in your own identity. Common concerns we often treat include the following:
Anxiety
Depression
Marital/Premarital
Self-Esteem
Stress
Spiritual Issues
Parent Coaching
College Adjustment
Coping Skills
Life Transitions
Postpartum Depression
Work Adjustment
Grief/Loss
Mood Disorders
Relationship Problems
Practice
Location
Our office address is 4801 Six Forks Road, Raleigh 27609. We are located in Midtown Raleigh close to North Hills Mall, and very near the intersection of Six Forks and Northbrook Roads.
Insurance
Anissa and Michael accept most Blue Cross & Blue Shield (BCBS) insurance plans. Please confirm whether or not we are in-network with BCBS prior to contacting us if you plan to utilize BCBS insurance.
For all other insurance plans: We will bill you at our normal rate and provide you with instructions to receive reimbursement directly from your insurance provider based upon your individual and/or family benefits. It is a good idea to contact your insurance provider before scheduling your first session so that you are familiar with the mental health benefits of your particular insurance plan.
Office Hours
Monday through Wednesday: 10 am – 5 pm
Thursday through Sunday: Closed
Enneagram
What is the Enneagram?
The Enneagram is a powerful gateway (tool) to self-awareness and understanding others. It describes the structure and dynamics of nine personality types, opening a path to a more integrated and rewarding life.
Stemming from the Greek words ennea (nine) and grammos (a written symbol), the nine-pointed Enneagram symbol represents nine distinct strategies for relating to the self, others, and the world. Each Enneagram type has a different pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting that arises from a deeper inner motivation or worldview.
How is understanding the Enneagram helpful?
Good relationships are important to all of us. Yet there are times we don’t see things the same way with the people in our life. It’s like we see our world from a different lens. The Enneagram is an effective tool for transforming our relationships with ourselves and others. The Enneagram is a personality system that provides insight into the nine strategies people use to cope with the many demands of life. Each strategy is attempting to fulfill important needs we all have such as safety, love, belonging, and a sense of worth. However, the ways we attempt to fulfill these needs vary greatly depending on our individual type. When we become more aware of the needs that motivate our behavior, and the behavior of others, we begin to see ourselves and others through the eyes of curiosity and compassion.
What is my type?
The Enneagram invites us to become AWARE of our inner stories: what drives them, how we feel, and how that impacts our world. Learning to observe ourselves, and understand what makes us tick, can lead to transformation in our relationship with ourselves and those we love. Please go to http://www.enneagramworldwide.com for an overview of the 9 Enneagram types.
We invite you to consider a journey that can change your life. We've seen it over and over, and it is our passion to help people grow through their work with the Enneagram. There are several ways that we can help you to discern your type and help you apply this knowledge to foster your own personal growth:
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Consider an individual typing interview with one of us in person or over the phone.
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Consider a series of 3 sessions with one of us to help you get launched. This includes a typing interview; education on the Enneagram; and individualized tools and strategies to promote your personal development.
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Attend one of Anissa's upcoming workshops to help you gain a more comprehensive understanding of the Enneagram.
Anissa's Workshops
Emotional Intelligence: Understanding and Relating to Others Using the Enneagram
Emotional Intelligence is a vital skill for successful relationships. Research has shown that the two basic components of Emotional Intelligence, “the capacity to know oneself and the capacity to relate well to others”, can have an even greater impact on success than intelligence alone. The Enneagram is an effective tool for developing Emotional Intelligence. The Enneagram (any-a-gram) is a personality system that provides insight into the nine strategies people use to cope with the many demands of life. Each strategy is attempting to fulfill important needs we all have, needs such as safety, love, belonging and a sense of worth. However, the ways we attempt to fulfill these needs vary greatly. When we become more aware of the needs that motivate our behavior and the behavior of others, we begin to see ourselves and others through the eyes of curiosity and compassion. This introductory workshop is taught from a Christian perspective and in the Narrative Tradition, through which panel comprised of each Enneagram type share their experiences. This powerful format explains the strengths and struggles of each personality type and provides participants with new skills for understanding the people in their life.
The Enneagram: A Tool for Transforming Relationships (Part 1)
This introductory workshop is taught from a Christian perspective and in the Narrative Tradition. I utilize guest panelists comprised of each of the 9 Enneagram types to create a powerful format to help explain the gifts and struggles of each personality type as well as provide participants with an array of new skills and strategies for understanding themselves and the important people in their lives.
Using the Enneagram as a Tool for Growth (Part 2)
This is a follow-up workshop to the introductory Part 1 program. At this workshop, we will dig deeper into the Enneagram and what the growth process can look like for each type. This smaller group setting allows more opportunities for experiential learning as we explore the essential qualities and connecting points of each type.
Contact
PLEASE NOTE: This feature of our website has been disabled by our website administrator because Anissa and Michael are not accepting new clients at this time. This message will be removed when they are accepting new clients again.