Annu Sood (she/her)

As the adult children of immigrants, I have struggled to bridge across my parts - my American parts, my South Asian parts. I can work with you to help you on your journey to better understand, identify, and be with your racial identity.

I grew up in a small North Carolina town in the 70s and 80s. My parents are immigrants from India, and in this little town, my family was markedly different from the other families around us. Becoming acculturated was difficult. Still is. I have worked hard to notice how I've abandoned certain parts of me or struggled to accept parts of me that I weren't accepted by those around me. I look forward to helping you on your journey and bringing my training and expertise in this area to our work.

Many who choose to work with me have experienced micro-aggressions at work. Many feel isolated from by the dominant culture. I'm a woman of color. I'm a culturally-attuned therapist with a multicultural background. I have experience with many -isms. I've received micro-aggressions in my workplace, in my community. Sadly, outside of my awareness, I've also microaggressed others. I have deep experience with both sides of this coin, and I can help you navigate across differences.

I use a mindfulness-based (aka awareness-based) approach to my work in the therapy room. While I'm happy to hold a mirror up and can share what I notice when the mirror is held a certain way, I am typically more interested in what a client notices when the mirror is held at a certain angle. I also recognize that the angles with which the mirror is held are driven by my own subjectivity, and I welcome dialogue that invites forward my subjective experiences. I am not a blank slate therapist.

I focus my practice on working with people who have had to straddle across cultures - people who have had to be and often continue to be a cultural bridge. For me, this translates to working with immigrants, offspring of immigrants, and those in multi-cultural relationships.

Half of my practice is working with couples (and half is working with individuals - all adults). I very much enjoy relationship work at any stage of relationship: just starting out, figuring out next steps, pre-marital counseling, sex-therapy, lost-the-spark, empty-nesters... I use a system approach in my work with couples and work experientially in the here-and-now, often offering invitations for experiments in the (virtual) therapy room that often allow for impactful learning and discovery.

I earned my undergraduate degrees from Duke University in BioMedical & Electrical Engineering. I continued my studies at Duke and earned a Masters that combined coursework in Law, Business, and Engineering. With the help of my own therapist (and after many dark nights of the soul), I decided to go back to grad school in my mid-late 30s and eventually pivoted my career to Counseling Psychology. I enjoy helping others work through career challenges and figuring out the best path forward.

Half of my practice is focused on couples therapy and relationship counseling. I enjoy helping others navigate the ins-and-outs of relationships and use an experiential, mindfulfness-based approach in my work here.