Anya Surnitsky, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator, is a would-be childhood cosmetologist turned therapist, guiding people to discover their own beauty and power from the inside out while encouraging them to shine and share their light with the world. Anya understands what it's like to exhaust yourself with perfectionism and constant striving while never truly feeling worthy and satisfied unless you get external reinforcement. To feel defeated, even though you know you set the bar at an impossibly high level. She knows what it's like to not want to fake it or numb yourself through the day. To want to stop following the unspoken "rules" set up by society, your family, your boss, your neighbors, and just be ok being yourself. She understands how difficult it is to reach out for help when you feel like you're not supposed to or not "allowed" to have needs.
She has over ten years of experience working with adults, couples, and groups. She is constantly learning to increase her knowledge and expertise to help people achieve their goals. The Daring Way™ has become a core passion of her work and practice as she sees it bring transformational change and growth to clients who commit to the process.
Anya does this work because she walks the walk. She runs into perfectionism and not-enough stuff and has to dig out the tools like everyone else. The other side of this journey putting the tools into practice, not trying to find a way to prove one's enough-ness in a culture that's built on highlighting inadequacies.
She has a Master’s Degree in Social Service (MSS) from the Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research and a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) from Drexel University. Anya runs her practice, Courage Compass Therapy, at Park Center Wellness in Willow Grove, PA where she sees clients for individual therapy and facilitates various groups for adult men and women, including 10-week therapy groups on The Daring Way™ and Rising Strong™. Anya has worked in various public and private community mental health settings helping people with severe mental illness and substance abuse, as well as anxiety, depression, self-esteem, perfectionism, self-harm, and adjustment/transition issues.
