Anthony Ross

Anthony Ross

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

Medi-Cal Provider

As a good friend of mine often says, “it’s hard to be human.” We are given all kinds of messages that life “should” be certain ways and that we “should” be happy 100% of the time. I think this causes us much more suffering than necessary. We wouldn’t be who we are today without the challenges we have faced. How do we make the best of these challenges, grow, and move forward with more strength, resiliency, and joy? 

Hi, my name is Anthony Ross. I’m an East Coast (upstate NY) transplant living in Santa Cruz the past 20 years. My background began in health education and morphed into community mental health for many years, predominantly working with queer and trans youth, their families, and communities. During that time I was often told I would make a great counselor, so I jumped back into school and I am loving this next portion of my career and life journey. 

My worldview and values align with Humanistic psychology, emphasizing person-centered as well as mindfulness, somatic, and holistic approaches to therapy that are foundationally trauma-informed and culturally humble. My experience in community mental health for the past twenty-five years has shown me that people find their way most effectively when supported to listen deeply to their own inner wisdom – this has been part of my lived-experience as well. My goal is to partner with you in support of you living your best life. I have experience working with depression, anxiety, diversity in gender and sexuality, grief, and trauma. I work with adolescents, adults, couples, and families of all kinds. 

For those interested, I hold a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from JFK School of Psychology at National University, with training in holistic theories and approaches. I also hold a Master of Science in Health Education from SUNY Cortland. I am a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) as well as the local Santa Cruz chapter (SC CAMFT). 

I look forward to working with you to help you achieve the goals and quality of life you envision. It’s a tough step to make, this first contact, so welcome! Let’s connect and see if our working together is a good fit. 

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New Office in San Francisco!

Shine a Light Counseling Center is please to merge with New Perspectives Center for Counseling. NPCC has been serving the San Francisco community for thirty years. Now NPCC is transitioning to become the San Francisco site for Shine a Light. NPCC will retain its name, character and history. For information about NPCC or counseling in San Francisco:

 

New Perspectives Center for Counseling (link)

Emergency Contact

Shine a Light does not provide crisis services. If you have a mental health emergency, call 988 or 911. Or  click here  for more Crisis Resources

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You can call Shine a Light at 831-996-1222, but we encourage you to use the email forms to the left. If you call, please leave the following:

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Good Faith Estimate

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your therapy sessions will cost. Your fee will be set according to a sliding scale, in collaboration with your therapist, prior to your first counseling session. Total costs depend upon the number of sessions you choose to utilize.

If you have private health insurance and we are not in-network with your plan, please be aware that your costs for therapy may be less by using an in-network provider. This will depend upon your plan's deductible amounts and co-payments. In some cases, counseling at Shine a Light is less costly than using private insurance.

If you hope to use "out of network" benefits through your private insurance, please be aware that many plans will not reimburse for services provided by trainees. Please request an Associate level therapists for out-of-network billing.

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Emergency Contact

Shine a Light does not provide crisis services. If you have a mental health emergency, call 911. Or click here for more Crisis Resources

Telephone Contact

You can call Shine a Light at 831-996-1222, but we encourage you to use the email forms to the left.