Tennessee Valley Counseling, LLC

Therapy for Huntsville’s young professionals

Marisa Kennemer, LPC

Marisa is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Alabama. This is actually a second career for Marisa. She began her career as a Middle School teacher and quickly realized her favorite part of teaching was talking to the students about personal struggles, so she went back to school to earn a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling from Liberty University, graduating in 2015. She now has over a decade of experience working in both inpatient and outpatient settings in the mental health field. 

Marisa's approach to counseling is warm and engaging, while also being goal-oriented. She believes clients make the most progress when they have something tangible to focus on during the week, so bridging the insights found in counseling with practical tools for real world application is a high priority. She utilizes an eclectic approach to tailor sessions to each client's needs. Most often this includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to replace unhealthy thinking patterns, tools from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to better handle distressing situations, Attachment Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing to overcome roadblocks to personal goals. Every session is approached from a Person-Centered and Strengths-Based foundation. 

Marisa has experience working with a broad range of concerns, but her specialty areas of interest include stress, anxiety, perfectionism, ADHD, adjustment issues, navigating life transitions, self-esteem, and family of origin issues. Whether you are defining your personal growth goals for the first time or just feel "stuck" where you are, there is much meaning to make and joy to be found on the other side. Marisa loves helping people move from feeling weighed down and crippled from past experiences to feeling empowered to use those difficult moments as stepping stones to a stronger sense of self then they thought possible. 

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Areas of Expertise

  • Anxiety

    In today’s time, feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion seem almost a necessity. But what if they didn’t have to be? What if there was a way to find a peace amidst the chaos? What if you could learn how to make life work for you instead of feeling like life’s challenges and obligations are calling all the shots? Therapy offers this opportunity by learning how to change your relationship with your stressors and learned patterns of behavior in order to finally be the boss of your own mind and finally find the calm you seek. And deserve.

  • Perfectionism

    Do you find yourself constantly questioning whether you made the right decision? Or find yourself frozen with the thought this may be the time everyone sees you don’t really have what it takes? When the pressure to be perfect paralyzes your desire to show up genuinely, it’s time to learn how to overcome the fear of failure that keeps you from connecting with the world in the wholehearted way you crave.

  • ADHD

    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) means more than having a difficult time staying focused or sitting still. It means frustration with a lack of productivity despite immense effort. It means feeling the weight of criticism and feelings of failure from not achieving goals. It means wondering why self-control comes more difficultly for you. Whether you have a hard time staying focused, find yourself jumping between tasks or interests, have a hard time figuring out ‘the important parts,’ or struggle to slow your activity level, it may be time to consider if ADHD explains some of your experience and learn medication-free ways to overcome the struggles that come with a neurodivergent brain.