You do count
Nothing dramatic has to have happened. A job ended. A marriage ended. A parent needs looking after. The kids left. You retired and it was not what you expected. You moved. Someone died and everyone assumes you are over it by now.
People put off calling because they think counseling is for something worse than whatever they have. Then they spend two years white-knuckling something that six to twelve sessions would have helped with.
How Ann Marie works with this
Short and focused. Work out what actually changed, what it cost you, and what would make the next few months more livable. Practical stress-management skills you can use between sessions rather than theory. A plan with an end in sight.
Some people stay longer because something else surfaces. Most do not need to.
Who this is for
Adults, teenagers and families going through a change. Individually or together.
Coming from Tawas City, West Branch or Oscoda
People drive in to Hale for counseling through a life change from right across the Sunrise Side. The road times are worth knowing before you commit to a weekly appointment, so here they are.
- Tawas City, about 32 minutes by road.
- West Branch, about 40 minutes by road.
- Oscoda, in Iosco County, about 45 minutes by road.
Say which town you are coming from when you call. It changes which times are sensible to offer you, and on the longer drives a longer appointment spaced further apart sometimes works better than a weekly hour. Road times from the rest of the area are on the service area page.
Practical
Sessions are 30 or 60 minutes, and what to expect and what to bring is set out in full. Most major insurance is accepted, see which plans and what to ask yours before you come.
Related: depression and anxiety when a change has gone on long enough to settle into something heavier, and relationship counseling when the change is between two people.
Reviewed by Ann Marie Shay, MA, LPC, September 2026.