Tessa Suppes, M.A., LPC

When I first started working with Tessa, I thought positively of therapy in a general sense, but was skeptical as to how much impact it would have on me personally. But working with her changed my life. Tessa has always been patient, thoughtful, and caring. I’m a more self-aware, capable, and emotionally intelligent person thanks in large part to working with her. The skills she helped me develop have made me a happier and healthier person and I’ll forever be grateful to have worked with her.

I’ve been a patient of Tessa’s for more than two years and I cannot recommend her enough. Working with her has been a game-changer for me. When I first started seeing her, I was dealing with anxiety and a drinking problem, and was very unhappy with where I was in my life. Tessa created a safe and comfortable space for me, where I didn’t feel judged. She helped me explore my struggles and guided me toward making life-changing decisions that I never thought I would have the strength to do. Through her gentle and compassionate work, I was able to achieve sobriety and set myself down a path of self-discovery and happiness. She has an amazing spirit and dedication that she brings to each session.

The first time, I was in crisis mode, and the work helped me reframe my understanding of myself and my situation. With her help, I moved out of crisis mode and was able to start addressing the underlying issues.

In the second instance, we worked together for a much longer period with a focus on addressing the root causes of my anxiety, depression, and issues that were affecting my everyday life. My work with her was so successful because she provided tools to help. Even better, Tessa has so many tools at her disposal that she can introduce something different if ones aren’t resonating or working.

Her active listening skills are top-notch, and I really felt heard and understood by her. Through her support, guidance, and care, I am in a totally different place now and feel equipped to handle issues as they arise.

While I’ve seen many wonderful counselors, I can honestly say that none of them made as much of an impact on my life as Tessa. I saw Tessa weekly for several years before moving to Boston, through significant life events like job changes and getting married, as well as bouts of severe depression and anxiety (both of which had plagued me for nearly my entire life).

It’s tough to summarize what my work with Tessa has meant for me. I’ve been able to move on from difficult events and patterns I thought I’d never be able to heal from. She was always warm, patient, kind, and so easy to talk to. I never once felt judged, or rushed, or like I needed to be someone I wasn’t to earn her warmth-at my absolute worst, Tessa always made me feel liked and understood. Her extensive education and training was really apparent – I’m still amazed how she always knew exactly what would help me the most, and had amazing strategies and ideas that no one had ever suggested to me before. Now, I’m an active participant in my life; my depression and anxiety are in full remission, and I feel fully myself in a way I never have before. I truly credit these changes to the work I did with Tessa, and I will be grateful for that for the rest of my life.

I cannot say enough positive things about Tessa, and would absolutely recommend her to anyone seeking a new counselor without hesitation. As my husband says now: ‘everyone should have a Tessa.’

For a lot of my life, I’d been very successful and a high earner. But in 2015, I was laid off. Although I found a decent paying job after that, I hated everything about it. After my one-year contract expired, I left. In the short term, this helped me to reconnect with my loved ones whom I had been distant, moody, and taken my frustrations out on. After several months of job searching, I decided to go back to practicing law for myself. Business development proved much more difficult than I anticipated. I went days, sometimes weeks, with little to do, and little income. And again, I isolated from my loved ones because of my feelings of inadequacy and frustration.

The Fall of 2018 was a low point for me, and that is when I started seeing Tessa. At that time, I was struggling with many aspects of my life—felt sad a lot of the time, had difficulty getting out of bed, felt disconnect with my family, and hid my struggles from my friends.

When criticized — even for the most minor things or when my efforts (when I tried) went unrecognized — I’d crawl back under the covers.

Tessa helped me put things into perspective and to develop tools to cope with my difficulties. First, she helped me understand that it’s okay to accept, even embrace, the emotions I was feeling. Sometimes life isn’t that fair. Sometimes people who work hard aren’t rewarded for their efforts, personally or professionally. Those things can suck, and it’s okay to recognize that.

Second, she helped me take control of my reactions to things. Instead of getting upset that my boys were taking me for granted, we worked on allowing them to take more responsibility for things. I didn’t need to resent making their beds and cleaning their rooms. Instead, I could shift the responsibility to them and let them know the consequences for not doing it.

With my wife, I needed to think about her perspective on certain issues and talk with her constructively about my point of view.

My outlook on my relationships, my career and myself improved dramatically. Granted, my business has improved greatly, so my self-esteem and self-worth have also improved. And Tessa helped me find ways of handling conflicts constructively and coping with difficulties when they happened. My last session with her was last week (for now), but I am so happy I went to see her and know she will be there if I need to see her again.