Anne B.
President and Founder at Atlanta Insomnia & Behavioral Health Services, P.C.; Psych Up Academy
Professional Training and Coaching
Education: Huntingdon College - University of Georgia
Atlanta, GA, USA
Biography
In over a decade and a half as a clinical psychologist helping people sleep and live better, I’ve guided hundreds of clients with insomnia and other sleep disorders to live their dreams through better rest.
I’ve also faced down my own mental gremlins in my decade as an author, publishing over twenty books and hitting the USA Today bestseller list. My biggest victory came when I faced down my own anxiety and Imposter Syndrome to publish Better Sleep for the Overachiever. Now I coach other authors to realize their visions of bringing their books into the world.
What do treating insomnia, writing books, and coaching authors have in common? Getting over the hurdles comes down to figuring out what your brain is doing to sabotage your success.
Being diagnosed with ADHD in 2022 helped me recognize why the systems out there didn’t work for me—they lack the flexibility needed by my creative, novelty-seeking brain.
I’ve applied this insight as well as that gleaned from my experiences, client work, and research to help my clients and audiences to appreciate their uniqueness and create their own systems to accomplish their goals.
Passion
What do treating insomnia, writing books, and coaching authors have in common? Getting over the hurdles comes down to figuring out what your brain is doing to sabotage your success. I'm passionate about helping people work with their brains to accomplish their dreams.
Featured Video
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I generally get paid for speaking but make exceptions
Topics
Best Story
The universe likes to remind us that perfection is impossible.
Early on in the pandemic, I was meeting with a new client who seemed hesitant and reserved. Like many of us, I'd scrambled to put together a home office in the corner of the spare bedroom, and so the bed was visible in the frame behind me.
Our professional societies had cautioned us to maintain our standards, and so we were discouraged from having animals in session with us. I think we all tried to control as much as possible in what felt like an uncontrollable situation, but my cat, a clingy gray tabby, didn't cooperate. He loved me working from home, and he'd figured out how to yowl outside the door at just the right pitch and volume to echo in my headphones. I had to prop the door for him to get in and out, and he made frequent cameo appearances during session.
On this particular day, he was playing on the bed, but I wasn't paying much attention to him.
Suddenly, in the middle of the evaluation, I heard this terrible, "mrrrrowr!" When I turned around, I saw that my darling cat had achieved the impossible - he caught his tail.
Startled, I snapped, "That's your tail, dumbass!" Then I turned back to the patient and said, "I'm so sorry."
She looked at me, wide-eyed. "I've never seen an animal catch his tail before. That was amazing!"
In that moment, the emotional barriers between us dissolved, and she ended up doing well in treatment. To the end, she asserted that the best part of therapy wasn't the result of being able to sleep seven to eight hours without medication. It was the cat. He agreed.
I learned that day that sometimes the things we can't control end up being the ones that help us the most. Thank you, Timothy Mouse.
Origin Story
Like many mental health professionals, I learned absolutely nothing about business in graduate school. After I earned my Ph.D. from the clinical psychology program at the University of Georgia, I worked as a sleep psychologist i a medical practice. The constraints of the limited time with patients and inability to treat the anxiety and depression that came along with insomnia frustrated me, so when an opportunity came to join a group practice where a mentor worked, I took it.
Now I have my own practice, and while I work harder for myself than I ever did for anyone else, I love the flexibility and the ability to do the work I'm passionate about. I regularly employ Mindfulness to help my clients, and I've benefited from my own practice.
In 2022, I started a new venture, Psych Up Academy, in which I combine my expertise as a psychologist and my experience as a professional creative. Through Psych Up Academy, I coach other professionals who are writing their own nonfiction books, and I also have on-demand online courses. The first one is on procrastination, specifically digging into the psychological underpinnings and why it’s so hard to get around (hint: it’s the brain trying to protect you).