Anxiety and depression therapists and psychiatrists in Maine

I am an RN with over 18 years of experience in nursing, specializing in mental health care. I am also a PMHNP-BC, and I obtained my first degree from Grand Canyon University and my Masters from Walden University. I manage clients across the lifespan and use a holistic and patient-centered approach.

I’m a LCSW with a background in behavioral health and trauma care, including supporting service members and veterans. I work with adults who may look like they’re holding it all together while carrying stress, anxiety, past experiences, or major life changes. I provide a warm, supportive space to help you feel understood and create meaningful change.

Mental health struggles impact everyone. It is up to us to take action to seek out those professionally trained to help us navigate our challenges. This assists us in achieving our goals of better coping, higher functioning, and creating stronger connections that result in happier, more resilient and better versions of ourselves. I have experience working with clients from every socioeconomic background and most diagnoses including those who struggle with the lasting effects of ongoing or past substance use and trauma. I have a greater understanding of the impacts declining mental health can have on every aspect of our lives.

I’m an LCSW, and my practice name, Life Shift Happens, comes from a truth I see every single day: people don’t come to therapy because they’re broken. They come because life stopped unfolding the way they expected, and they feel entirely stuck. A lot of the humans I work with are incredibly thoughtful and trying so hard. They usually don't lack insight; they’ve read the coping skills and talked things through with friends. Yet, they still find themselves procrastinating, shutting down, or feeling completely frozen by past stuff. When that happens, change isn’t a matter of forcing more willpower. It requires slowing down to look at the patterns and defense mechanisms we build to protect ourselves when life gets heavy.

My style is collaborative, deeply conversational, and entirely human. I’m not here to judge, lecture, or pretend I have all the answers. Instead, I’m active in our sessions through asking questions, noticing patterns, and gently pushing back when I see you getting in your own way. We will work on the practical things like boundaries, follow-through, and managing emotions, while sitting with the messy overthinking, panic, burnout, or feeling checked out underneath it all. Therapy with me is a relationship where we make sense of the sudden crises and quiet paralyses that come with life shifts. The goal isn’t a perfect, flawless life, but rather a therapeutic space where you can figure out what changed, sprinkle in compassion, and learn how to move forward in a way that feels genuinely your own.

I’m a licensed therapist with more than 20 years of experience in behavioral health. I trained at Goddard College, earned my doctorate in public health from Tulane University, and am licensed to practice in both Maine and Vermont.

I work with individuals navigating a wide range of emotional, relational, and life challenges. My approach is grounded in an existential perspective, which means I help clients explore questions of meaning, identity, connection, and how their environments shape their wellbeing. I believe that even healthy people can become symptomatic in unhealthy environments, and I work collaboratively with clients to better understand their experiences, build insight, and move toward lives that feel more authentic and sustainable.

My goal is to offer a thoughtful, supportive space where clients can reflect, heal, and make meaningful change.

I'm Dr. Cheri Carter, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a PhD in Family Studies.

Welcome to my practice! I am an LCSW psychotherapist with over 20 years of experience working in various roles in community mental health settings and acute mental healthcare. I bring intellectual and emotional competence, integrity, ethics, and empathy to my work, fostering compassionate and collaborative mental health care for individuals who are struggling. I specialize in treating anxiety, depression, PTSD, personality disorders, OCD, and psychotic disorders.

I’m a graduate of Columbia University’s School of Social Work and I have been working in community mental health for more than a decade.

I specialize in helping women, millennials and high achievers with:

• Life Transitions: marriage, breakups, relationships, career changes, emerging adulthood, depression, anxiety
• Perinatal Health: depression, anxiety, adapting to new roles, IVF, infertility, body image & change
• High Achieving: perfectionism, work/life balance, imposter syndrome, competitiveness