Therapist & Counseling Center in Estero, Florida

Plenty of clients come in already knowing what they need: an EMDR therapist, a family therapist, someone who works with teens. This is a quick guide to the specialty areas our Estero office covers and the clinicians who anchor each one.

Trauma therapy & EMDR in Estero and Bonita Springs

Trauma and PTSD are among the most common reasons people search for a therapist in Lee County, and after Hurricane Ian that's only become more true. Our Estero office pairs Stephen Bridges, who is EMDR-trained, with Mary Lisa Grimmer and Micki Besse, whose trauma work includes first responders and veterans. If you've been holding off on therapy because talking about what happened feels like too much, EMDR offers a different path. Read more about our trauma and PTSD program, EMDR therapy, or our guide to hurricane trauma in Florida.

Anxiety therapy in Estero, Bonita Springs, and South Fort Myers

Anxiety shows up in different shapes: racing thoughts at 3 a.m., the chest tightness before a meeting, the avoidance that gets harder to explain to yourself over time. At our Estero office, Mary Lisa Grimmer and Micki Besse work with adults on generalized anxiety, panic, and the chronic stress that's gotten too heavy to carry. Stephen Bridges brings CBT and EMDR tools when anxiety has trauma roots underneath, and Leigh Williamson takes a person-centered approach with teens and adults whose anxiety is tangled up in relationships or a recent change. Learn more about our anxiety therapy approach or read when anxiety crosses into disorder territory.

Depression counseling at our Estero Park Commons office

Depression in Southwest Florida doesn't always look like the textbook version. It can be seasonal, or tied to retirement or a move. Often it's the slow flattening that arrives without an obvious cause. Mary Lisa Grimmer, Micki Besse, Stephen Bridges, and Leigh Williamson all see clients for depression at our Estero office, with different angles depending on what's underneath. Read more about our depression counseling program or our take on seasonal depression in Florida.

Family therapy and parenting support in Estero

Family therapy is its own skill set, different from individual work. Shivani Patel is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapy Intern at our Estero office and works with families on conflict between parents and teens, sibling dynamics, blended-family adjustment, and the communication patterns that everyone in the room can feel but no one quite knows how to name. If your family is stuck in a loop you can't break, family therapy is built for exactly that. Read more about our family therapy program.

Teen, child, and play therapy in Estero and Bonita Springs

Kids and teens don't always have the words for what's wrong, and even when they do, talk therapy isn't always the right container. Skyler Moore works with children, teens, and young adults at our Estero office, drawing on play therapy for younger kids and a CBT/skills-based approach for older teens dealing with anxiety, depression, ADHD, school refusal, and the identity questions that come with that age. Leigh Williamson also sees teenagers here, mostly around anxiety, low mood, and friction at home. Read more about our child and adolescent therapy and play therapy programs, or our explainer on what play therapy actually does.

Substance abuse and anger management in Estero

Not every reason to start therapy is a diagnosis. Sometimes it's drinking that has crept past where you meant it to stay, or a temper that has started to cost you at home or at work. Brianna Drinnon, a licensed clinical social worker at our Estero office, works with adults on substance use and anger, leaning on CBT and DBT for the concrete tools that help you catch a pattern before it runs away with the day. If you're not sure whether what you're dealing with really counts as a problem, that question is a reasonable place to begin. Learn more about our substance abuse counseling and anger management programs.

OCD treatment in Estero

OCD is easy to miss, partly because it dresses up as carefulness or as a preference for having things a certain way. Skyler Moore works with the intrusive thoughts and compulsions that come with it, using the exposure-based approach (ERP) that has become the standard for treating OCD well. Rebecca Anderson, our co-owner and a licensed psychologist, also sees Estero clients for OCD and the anxiety that usually travels alongside it. If the cycle has been running your day, there is a way out of it. Read more about our OCD treatment program.

LGBTQ+ affirming care and ADHD support in Estero

For a lot of LGBTQ+ clients, the right therapist is the one who doesn't make you explain the basics before you can get to what you actually came in for. Skyler Moore, Leigh Williamson, and Shivani Patel all offer affirming care at our Estero office, whether the work is about identity and family or about anxiety that has nothing to do with being queer and still needs somewhere to land. Skyler and Shivani also work with ADHD in teens and adults, the version that shows up less as restlessness and more as a life that's hard to keep organized. Learn more about our LGBTQ+ affirming therapy and ADHD therapy.

Our Estero office sits in the Estero Park Commons plaza, just off US-41 near the Corkscrew Road intersection. That makes it convenient for residents of Bonita Springs, Coconut Point, South Fort Myers, and the surrounding neighborhoods along the 41 corridor.

Estero and Bonita Springs have grown rapidly over the past several years, and with that growth comes change: new jobs, new schools, new relationships, and sometimes the stress that comes with all of it. Whether you've lived here for decades or just moved to the area, our therapists provide a grounded, consistent space to work through whatever you're carrying.

Services at our Estero office include individual therapy, anxiety therapy in Estero, depression counseling in Estero, EMDR, trauma therapy, family therapy, and support for children and teens. We also offer therapy in Spanish for clients who are more comfortable in their first language. And on the weeks when getting to Corkscrew Road isn't realistic, most of our Estero clinicians also offer secure telehealth sessions. You keep the same therapist and the same approach, from wherever in Florida you happen to be.

Therapy for Bonita Springs Residents

If you live in Bonita Springs, our Estero office is likely the closest option. Bonita Springs and Estero essentially share a community; many Bonita residents along Bonita Beach Road and the US-41 corridor are just minutes from our door. Whether you're coming from downtown Bonita, the neighborhoods off Imperial Parkway, or anywhere along 41 between Bonita and Estero, you won't spend long in the car getting here. For a fuller breakdown of finding a therapist when you live in Bonita, see our guide to therapy in Bonita Springs.

Serving San Carlos Park, Three Oaks & Gateway

We also see many clients from the growing communities between Estero and Fort Myers, including San Carlos Park, Three Oaks, and Gateway. These neighborhoods have expanded quickly, and finding local mental health support hasn't always kept pace with the growth. Our office is an easy drive via Corkscrew Road or US-41, and we're glad to serve as a convenient option for families and individuals in those areas who don't want to drive all the way into Fort Myers for therapy.

Counseling for Snowbirds & Seasonal Residents

Estero is also home to a large seasonal resident and snowbird community, particularly in neighborhoods like Miromar Lakes, The Brooks, Pelican Landing, and the Coconut Point area. Splitting time between two places comes with its own set of mental health challenges that year-round residents may not face: disrupted routines, the strain of maintaining relationships across distance, and the loneliness that can settle in during the off-season months when friends and neighbors head north. The flip side hits too: seasonal depression in Florida is real, even when the sun is shining. Our therapists understand these patterns and can help you build strategies that work whether you're here for six months or twelve.

Hurricane recovery for Lee County families

Estero and the surrounding Lee County communities sit in the path of one of the most disruptive storms in Florida history. Hurricane Ian's effects on Bonita Springs, Estero, and the corridor along US-41 are still showing up in our offices: heightened anxiety during rain, sleep disrupted by storm cues, avoidance of flooded areas, and a sense that the next season is never far away. Trauma therapy, including EMDR, has a strong track record with this kind of experience. See our guides on hurricane trauma and PTSD in Florida and mental health after Hurricane Ian for more on how storm trauma surfaces and how to address it.

We accept most major insurance plans, and evening hours are available on Mondays. Reach out whenever you're ready — there's no pressure and no waitlist for an initial conversation. If you're new to therapy, read about what to expect in your first session.

Our office sits in the Estero Park Commons plaza on US-41, just north of the Corkscrew Road intersection. For most of the surrounding area it's a short trip. The estimates below assume free-flowing traffic, so add a few minutes in season or during the evening rush.

• Central Estero and Coconut Point: about 5 to 12 minutes.
• Bonita Springs: roughly 10 to 20 minutes down US-41, depending on whether you're up near Bonita Beach Road or down toward Old 41 and downtown.
• San Carlos Park: about 8 to 15 minutes north on 41.
• South Fort Myers: around 15 to 25 minutes up US-41 or Three Oaks Parkway.
• Miromar Lakes, The Brooks, Pelican Landing, and Shadow Wood: 5 to 12 minutes.
• North Naples: around 20 to 30 minutes south via US-41 or I-75.

If getting to Corkscrew Road isn't realistic on a given week, most of our Estero clinicians also offer secure telehealth. You keep the same therapist and pick up where you left off, from anywhere in Florida.