Meet The Founder

I founded Therapy For Real Life immediately after the 2016 election with more than twenty years of experience as a helping professional. I observed rising rates of burnout in among mental health practitioners at that time, and throughout helping professions more broadly. Moral injury remains common in our profession as individual practitioners struggle to compensate for both an overwhelming demand and short supply of mental health care. My aim in starting this practice was to create a space where research-backed self-care and burnout prevention concepts could become more readily and broadly accessible through creative means. 

 

Therapy For Real Life supports the work of changemakers by helping them tailor evidence-based skills to compel their goals into action and reality. I work with individuals and couples to apply trauma-informed mindfulness techniques, intersectionalist relationship frameworks, and motivational enhancement strategies into choices and life plans that respect each person's authentic values. 

 

Workshops For Real Life makes self-care more sustainable by harnessing the power of community. I partner with groups, workplaces, and teams to apply existing strengths into sustainable practices that protect self-care and balance as a community. Workshops For Real Life teaches research-backed self-care and burnout prevention concepts through fun and engaging experiences to maximize learning.

 

The Therapy For Real Life Podcast is home to a library of research-backed self-care skills - primarily adapted from Dialectical Behavior Therapy -for use outside of the therapy space. The Therapy For Real Life Podcast shares brief self-care practices adapted for everyday life using mindfulness, emotional regulation, relationship awareness, and stress management tools. The Therapy For Real Life Podcast aims to reduce the known costs of therapy by making self-care tools available and adapted for use outside of the therapy space. 

 

What brings all of this work together is the belief that self-care is best done in community, not alone. Let’s do this work together. 

 

Therapy For Real Life + Workshops For Real Life are here to help. 

 

In community, 

 

Anna Lindberg Cedar, MPA, LCSW, LICSW

Founder

 

Anna Lindberg Cedar's Training and Expertise

Education: 

  • Master of Science in Social Work | Columbia University School of Social Work | 2011
  • Master of Public Administration | Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs | 2011
  • Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies | Vassar College | 2003

 

Specialized Training: 

 

Previous Leadership and Clinical Experience:

  • Kip Health leadership team | Clinical Director, Data-Backed Therapist
  • Modern Health | Evidence-Based Therapist
  • La Clinica de la Raza | Integrated Behavioral Health Clinician
  • San Francisco Women Against Rape | California State Certifed Rape Crisis Volunteer
  • New York State Psychiatric Institute | Schizophrenia research Intern Therapist, Research Assistant
  • Metropolitan Detention Center, Federal Bureau of Prisons | DBT research Intern Therapist, Research Assistant
  • Hospital Infantil Regional Universitario Dr. Arturo Grullon | Columbia University School of Public Health Child Abuse Research Fellow
  • Holy Family Day Home | Community Health Advocate
  • Survivors International | Senior Case Manager, Program Director
  • Women's Foundation of California | Women's Policy Institute Fellow
  • Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health | Research Assistant, Co-Author
     

Keynote Speaker / Presenter: SXSW EDU 2024, SXSW 2023, Building Hope For Children 2022, CFOV "Helping The Helpers" 2022... 

 

Therapy For Real Life Roles:

 

Therapy for Real Life + Workshops For Real Life: Feedback

"I have had the opportunity and pleasure to work with Anna for many years.  She is a very experienced therapist who has a wealth of different clinical strategies to help others.  I have seen her support people and help them find their own paths forward with grace and incredible connection.  She has the ability to connect with a wide range of people.  I would refer people to her with confidence that they would find a skilled and caring professional."

 

- Ruth C., Licensed Clinical Social Worker
 
 

"I have confidently referred dozens of my patients to Anna over the years, and she has consistently served each individual with a calm, thoughtful and caring demeanor. Her work in depression, anxiety and trauma is incredibly skilled, and her clients report back how much they appreciate her guidance in navigating difficult issues or challenging times in their lives.  I will most certainly continue to highly recommend her services."                                                                               

- Steve S., Family Nurse Practitioner

 

"When Anna Cedar, my colleague of two years, told me that she was starting a private practice I got incredibly excited that others will get to experience the funny, thoughtful and warm person that she is.  Yes, it goes without saying that she has years of experience as a therapist and that she has knowledge and a deep grasp of both "talk therapy" and evidence based interventions.  I got incredibly excited because even more than her knowledge about interventions that help people when coping with stress, concerns about identity, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, trauma (or any combination of the above)--Anna has the intangible skills that help individuals feel really LISTENED to.  I feel that therapy is often about goodness of fit--that is--feeling comfortable and safe with your clinician.  Anna makes ME feel safe.  She has a deft touch with people and she's not afraid to ask hard questions or sit with pain and sadness."
 

- Jeannette H., Licensed Clinical Social Worker

 

"Anna Cedar is a truly exceptional therapist who holds the unique balance of connecting easily to people with a deeply knowledgeable base in methodology.  She is incredibly skilled at working with both individuals and families in periods of transitions, stress or trauma.  As a family nurse practitioner, I have referred many people to her over the years. I highly recommend her practice."

- Arin K., Family Nurse Practitioner

 

"As a former colleague, I have experienced Anna's skill helping people with anxiety, depression,  trauma, and other life-stressors.  In her years as a therapist, people have come to her with numerous and varied concerns, and she has supported people from diverse backgrounds who bring different expectations to therapy.  She has a strong set of evidence-based skills, and inspires optimism in one's ability to create a balanced emotional life.  She is also dedicated to the integrity of her work with each client, and you can expect that she will listen and provide guidance tailored just for you."

- Rosa L., Licensed Clinical Social Worker

 

"Anna Cedar is a very skilled, empathic and thoughtful therapist.  As a colleague, I would confidently refer potential clients to Anna as I have witnessed her ability to successfully treat a wide variety of issues amongst a very diverse population of individuals.  She effectively tailors her treatment plans to the unique needs of her clients and works diligently to ensure that she is providing a high-quality service.  She connects easily with clients who consistently praise her for her knowledge and care."

- Erica G., Licensed Clinical Social Worker

About Therapy For Real Life

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© Copyright 2017 - 2025 Therapy For Real Life Anna Lindberg Cedar, MPA, LCSW #64284 (CA) LICSW #29511 (MN) - All rights reserved; Call 9-1-1 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline if you are in crisis: 1-800-273-8255 . Therapy For Real Life's provides burnout prevention counseling and couples therapy services via telehealth throughout California, Colorado, Vermont, and Minnesota. Schedule now: https://annacedar.clientsecure.me/ . Workshops For Real Life facilitates interactive self care events using behavioral science to build connections and coping in real time. Learn more: WorkshopsForRealLife.com