Anna is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Georgia. In 2018, she opened a private practice, Elevate Counseling + Coaching providing individual therapy and supervision. She is a generalist, but has a lot of experience working with with anxiety, depression, life transitions, and eating disorders. Prior to Elevate, she spent eight years as the Director of Upper School Counseling for a small private school.

She has a passion for working with people. In therapy, Anna’s approach is generally cognitive behavioral therapy mixed with solution-focused techniques. The goal is to challenge you, but for you to leave feeling empowered and capable of controlling your own life. In addition to traditional therapy, she has a lot of experience with leadership development, personal development, and health and wellness and she often weaves those into individual therapy sessions.

I am licensed as a Professional Counselor in Georgia. I earned a MS degree in Community Counseling in 1989 from Georgia State University, and am certificated in Christian Counseling from Richmont Graduate University. I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) and have completed EMDRIA-sponsored Basic Training in EMDR to help people with trauma.

As a licensed professional counselor and an experienced inner healing prayer minister, I am passionate about helping people get past difficulties. Others describe me as compassionate, insightful and skilled at getting to the root cause of an issue. I would be honored to help you overcome adversity.

I offer guidance through the wilderness of depression and anxiety, support in life‘s crucial decisions, deep inner listening, companionship in the life of the Spirit, help in the formation of relationships between other people and God, a sacred space for connecting with your true Self, the therapeutic gift of love, a journey into wholeness.

Life can get overwhelming sometimes, and everyone has an opinion on how you should manage it. No matter what you’re dealing with, someone always suggests a quick fix— anxiety: “just calm down;” depression: “just be happy;” or disordered eating: “just eat.” The reality is, if it were that simple, we would all be perfect people and never struggle with anything in our entire lives. That’s just not human nature. So if that’s not the answer, how do we grow and change? How do we resolve the deepest, most wounded parts of ourselves?

There’s a quote by Christine Langley-Obaugh that I love, which says, “We repeat what we don’t repair.” We have to sit with those uncomfortable parts of ourselves—our anxiety, depression, disordered eating, grief—and figure out when and why it showed up. What is it trying to tell us about ourselves and our experience?

That’s what the therapeutic space is for. We put other pieces of our lives on hold for an hour, to sit and listen and process. From there, we can establish a different way for the brain and body to communicate with one another; a way that allows for expression without overwhelm. It’s a process that can take some time, but it is oh so worth it.

Dr. Bilka tailors her therapeutic approach to fit each client’s unique needs. She integrates several therapeutic approaches including cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, EMDR and relational techniques to provide comprehensive and dynamic treatment. Dr. Bilka’s clinical interests include gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender/questioning issues, adolescent and adult life transitions, relationship concerns, trauma and abuse. She specializes in treating teenagers and young adults dealing with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and trauma. Dr. Bilka is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, which has been proven highly effective for the treatment of trauma as well as with many other issues. She incorporates warmth, empathy, humor and insight-oriented methods into her practice. Dr. Bilka views the therapeutic process as a collaborative one in which the therapist offers understanding and support, providing the client with the space to develop a deeper understanding of his or her self and the courage to work toward change.

I'm a Brazilian-Korean-American Licensed Professional Counselor and National Certified Counselor. My academic background includes a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Georgia State University. Fulfilling my lifelong dream of becoming a therapist, I have a profound belief in the transformative power of psychotherapy. Despite the effort it demands, the path is unquestionably rewarding. I place my confidence in the inherent strength within every client, fostering transformation from the inside out. I value honesty, compassion, authenticity, inclusivity, growth, and I approach my work with professionalism and care.

My goal is not to 'fix' your problems or talk you out of your emotions; instead, I'll guide you in understanding them, helping uncover their root causes for a deeper insight into yourself, your relationships, and behavior patterns. As your therapist, I prioritize creating a warm, non-judgmental space for you to process your experiences, and recognize the intricate layers that contribute to your overall well-being.

I integrate evidence-based approaches such as Psychodynamic, Person-Centered, Somatic, Narrative, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive-Behavioral, and Mindfulness practices. I am also EMDR trained and fluent in Portuguese. During our sessions, I'll invite you to explore how early experiences may influence your current behavior, consider the body-mind connection, and embrace the possibility of developing new thought patterns and practices for a more balanced life.

I have helped clients experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma and post traumatic stress, racial trauma, grief, perfectionism, self-esteem, relationship/communication issues, and identity exploration. I offer in-person and virtual sessions.

When not counseling, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, playing music, and cooking pasta.

Available to New Clients! In-person Acworth office or virtually.
Who Am I? We all desire to be heard, to be seen, to have a purpose, to know the truth, to trust, to be trusted, and to be whole. The mind, body, & spirit need to be well; we work with all three parts. Having grown up overseas, I know acculturation into the home country is a struggle. I know what it's like to be hurt by religion or church. I know what it's like to live with a narcissistic leader or family member.
I've experienced divorce, remarriage, had single-parenting struggles, learned to rebuild a family. I know the challenges of aging parents. Life is hard at any age. I am also an LGBTQIA ally.
I offer a safe space of acceptance & kind confrontation. Our lives are impacted by trauma, whether a one-time event or a life pattern. Trauma can be one-time or long-term; religious, psychological, or physical abuse by people we trust. I will walk alongside you, working through the past, accepting the present, working toward whole wellness in your future.
As your therapist, I want to be present with you where your needs may be. If it's anxiety, depression, gender identity issues, church or religion mess, trauma, aging parents, difficult kids, troubled or at-risk-marriage, toxicity, or a career change, I will listen to you. I offer an open mind but I will challenge you when you need another perspective.

As a therapist, Michelle is committed to supporting her clients as they identify the changes they would like to make. With your personal goals in mind, she will work with you to discover the best positive solutions to the challenges you are facing. Michelle believes that counseling is not just about talking out problems and crisis issues, but about building self-confidence, resilience, and meaning.

I am a minister and psychotherapist who values the healthy integration of faith along with the best of the behavioral sciences. I value spiritually grounded and psychologically informed care. One professional specialty has grief and loss.

I have 10 years of experience working with individuals. I first started working at the school systems doing Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) to kids struggling with different diagnosis. (More on ABA later!) I also worked at an agency working with high crisis behavior such as self-injury and high magnitude aggression for children 2 to 18 years old. Later on, I got to manage two Adult Family Homes for people with developmental disabilities (autism, down syndrome, etc). I got my masters at Gonzaga University and continue to grow my experience as an intern at Frontier Behavioral Health where I got to see clients with Borderline Personality Disorder, PTSD, anxiety, depression and more. I have seen and counseled many different people with different diagnosis and various challenges. I highly enjoy working with autistic adults as well as anybody going through any life transition.

Disclaimer: I am a neurodivergent affirmative therapist. I do not run under ABA practices and I am here to help talk about healing from any form of therapy that did not suit your unique needs.