Meet Anne Schanz, PhD | Counselor and Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anne Schanz, PhD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anne, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Teaching people self acceptance increases self compassion which increases their ability to have compassion for everyone else. We may have different boats, but we are all in the same storm.

As each person takes on more realistic perspectives, it also spreads to those in that person’s sphere of influence.

Learning to
Be human beings, not human doings.
Do something about what we can and stop trying to control the rest.
Let people know how to treat you (set boundaries) because no one can read your mind.
Love is infinite. The only way to cut the supply is by hoarding.
Conflict is an opportunity to understand yourself and others.
Defensiveness is fear based.
Fear is the enemy of happiness.
There is nothing wrong with you.
You can only be happy in the present.
Accept what is. You can only start from here.
It is not the things that happen to you, but how you interpret them that causes you pain.
Unmet expectations are the source of your unhappiness.
You can change your expectations.
No one else is responsible for you.
Only do for others what pleases you to do, no inexplicit strings attached.

etc.

What should our readers know about your business?
I have been in private practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor since 1994. Graduate school does not prepare you for setting up a practice and it is a very steep learning curve.

With my freshly printed license, I wanted to set up a private practice in North Dallas to offer individual, couple, and group therapy. At this point, I had very little to set me apart other than my prior business and life experiences and that did help!

It has taken me 30 years get here. I have a strong private practice, but I have struggled to get my most important work to a larger audience. Accept yourself as you are and live pleased TODAY.
.

Most important to me, I have developed my own methodology for personal change. It is called the Clarity Key Method. It is based on the Clarity Key which is a my proprietary model of the psyche which provides the framework to derive unconscious beliefs from things that we do know.

When we encounter self-sabotage, or an inability to change something in our lives, it is generally due to an unconscious belief that is in contradiction to what we are trying to change. As very young children we begin making decisions about ourselves, others, and the world. When one of our conclusions is that we have and attribute or trait that is not acceptable (to caretakers) we hide it away in the unconscious. The need to keep this knowledge hidden from the world and ourselves which sets up a compulsion to ALWAYS be the opposite. This compulsion causes us to set up patterns of behavior and establishes the rules for the types of people we can select to be in our social circle. Vast aspects of our lives are controlled by these unconscious conclusions we reached as toddlers.

The good news is that once the secret is revealed the compulsion to hide it falls away. Then we just have habits to get rid of. That is relatively easy once the compulsion/anxiety is gone.

By understanding this universal phenomenon, we come to realize that we are not responsible for what we did not know. Suddenly the compulsion is gone and so is the self-contempt/disgust/disapproval that we have held onto for so long because we kept failing at changing, at being ‘good enough’.

As this knowledge dawns, and real self acceptance takes hold, it is easier to begin to change our fears about other things too.

building healthy relationships,
setting and maintaining healthy boundaries,
learning to discern trustworthines,
being assertive about self care,
advocating for yourself in the workplace, school.
accepting what is- it is the only starting place
accepting ourselves as we are
living in the present
being present in life
accepting the limits to our control,
letting go
feeling emotions fully
finding and following our passions
and many more

My basic course introduces the The Clarity Key and how to use it, as well as new perspectives on how we create our expectations and belief systems. Then, that is applied to relationships, boundaries, intimacy, conflict, defensiveness, doubt, emotions, responsibility and control. It is a comprehensive reset.

After the course, I strongly recommend joining a Clarity Group to consolidate and implement the learning in everyday life with others doing the same. The members of the group (usually 6) meet with me weekly for 1.5 hours and have on-going text support with each other during the week. It is an open-ended group after the initial commitment of 12 weeks.

I want people to know they can love and accept themselves as they are, today.

We can only live today so happiness cannot be deferred until tomorrow, because tomorrow never comes.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend is visiting the area we would spend most of the time hanging out together at the house. I have autoimmune disease and chronic pain so I have to ration my activities. I am often at home, which I have made into my favorite place in the city.

There are so many really good restaurants in the DFW area, those are a must.

We have world class shopping (I don’t do that), we have live music (I don’t do that either), we have sports available most of the year ( I don’t do those either),

We have museums and historical places to visit.

We have amusement parks, water parks, top golf, great escapes, etc.

I would be here when they got home.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Thanks to Shawna Yant for introducing me to Shoutout.

Thanks to the many people who have benefited from my work and spread the word to others. You have built my practice.

Most of all, Tom Schanz, my late husband, was my greatest mentor and supporter. Without him, I could not have gone back to school and completely changed my career path from business consultant to counselor. I would never have been able to develop my Clarity Key Method for changing perspectives and permitting kindness to ourselves.

To my grandson, Robert, who has been such a strong supporter since my husband died.

Without these people, I could not have helped any of the wonderful people I have worked with for 30 years.

Website: www.anneschanzphd.com, www.totalanxietyrelief.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drschanz/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-schanz-phd-85679b8/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dranneschanz

Yelp: yelp.com/biz/anne-schanz-phd-carrollton

Youtube: coming soon

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@drannecoaching?lang=en