THERAPIST · DOG LOVER · AVID LEARNER
Anna Mills Fleenor, LMSW
You Are Not Broken. You Are Not Failing.
Anna Mills Fleenor is a licensed therapist at Empower Counseling who supports women through the experiences that can shake you to your core — infertility, pregnancy, postpartum, pregnancy loss, and the identity shift of becoming a mother.
Her approach is rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — helping you reconnect with your values, strengthen your sense of self, and move toward the life you want, even when everything feels uncertain.
Anna Mills Fleenor, LMSW
Perinatal Mental Health TherapistWomen’s Therapist
If You Have Found Your Way Here,
Something Is Probably Hard Right Now
Maybe you’ve been through a loss no one around you fully understands. A miscarriage. A failed cycle. A birth that went nothing like you planned. Everyone else seems to have moved on. “I don’t even have the words for what I’m grieving.” “I should be over this by now” — even though you know you’re not.
Maybe you’re in the thick of new motherhood and it’s nothing like you expected. The thoughts won’t stop. You love your baby and also feel like you’re disappearing. “I’m supposed to be happy and I’m not.” “I don’t recognize myself.” “I feel like a failure and I can’t tell anyone.”
Maybe the anxiety has been running your life longer than you want to admit — the looping thoughts, the dread, the exhaustion of holding everything together while quietly drowning.
Whatever brought you here — you do not have to have it figured out. You just have to show up.
What It Feels Like to Sit Across From Anna Mills
Sessions with Anna Mills are unhurried. No agenda pushing you toward a particular version of recovery, no pressure to feel better on a timeline that isn’t yours — just a quiet, steady presence that holds whatever you bring in: the thoughts you haven’t said out loud, the feelings that don’t make sense, the grief you can’t explain to the people who love you.
Women who work with Anna Mills often describe feeling genuinely heard for the first time — not assessed, not redirected, not reassured with phrases that land hollow. Just heard. From that place, the real work becomes possible.
Anna Mills works with women who are navigating:
- Postpartum depression, anxiety, and OCD
- Prenatal (perinatal) depression and anxiety
- Perinatal Mood and Anxietay Disorders (PMADs)
- The transition into motherhood and identity shifts
- Infertility and the emotional toll of fertility treatment
- Pregnancy loss, miscarriage, and reproductive grief
- Birth trauma and postpartum PTSD
- Intrusive thoughts during the perinatal period
- Women's issues and general anxiety and depression
In-person in Birmingham · Online throughout Alabama · Accepting new clients now
What Happens When You Reach Out
Your first session is not a test or an intake form brought to life. It is a conversation. Anna Mills will want to understand what’s been hard, what brought you here, and what you’re hoping for — even if that’s simply to feel less alone. There’s no pressure to share more than you’re ready to. The pace is yours.
Over time, sessions become a space you can count on — consistent, confidential, and entirely focused on you. Most clients find that the things they were most afraid to say out loud are the ones that, once spoken, begin to lose their grip.
What Anna Mills Believes About You
She believes you are not broken. The thoughts and feelings that have made you question yourself are not evidence of weakness — they are evidence of how much you are carrying. Healing doesn’t require you to become a different person; it requires you to come home to the person you already are, underneath all of it.
She also believes the relationship between therapist and client is not incidental to the work — it is the work. Being truly seen, without judgment, is itself a form of healing. And every woman who walks through the door deserves that.
You Deserve Support. Anna Mills Is Here.
Whatever you’re carrying — the sadness that won’t lift, the worry that never quiets, the grief that has no name, the exhaustion of a role you didn’t expect to feel this hard — you don’t have to manage it alone. You reached out. That matters.
Anna Mills is accepting new clients now. In person in Birmingham · Online throughout Alabama.
You are not alone. Let's begin.
How Anna Mills Helps
The approach: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Anna Mills' approach is grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — a well-researched, evidence-based method that is particularly effective for the anxiety, depression, and identity challenges women face during the perinatal period and throughout their lives.
Rather than trying to eliminate difficult thoughts or push away painful feelings, ACT helps you change your relationship with them. You learn to notice your inner experience without being controlled by it, and to take meaningful action toward what matters most to you — even when things are hard.
For women navigating PMADs, infertility, or loss, this approach is especially powerful because it does not ask you to feel better before you can start living. It helps you build a life worth living right now, even in the middle of something difficult.
Her goal with every client is the same: to help you reconnect with your values, strengthen your relationships, and cultivate a genuine sense of self-worth — even in the hardest seasons.
Background & Training
Anna Mills Fleenor earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Social Work at The University of Alabama and is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) in the state of Alabama. She is trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
She was drawn to perinatal mental health because she believes every woman deserves to feel supported through the most transformative — and sometimes most difficult — chapters of her life. She brings genuine warmth to her work, a deep respect for each client's individual experience, and a quiet conviction that healing is always possible.
She offers in-person sessions at Empower Counseling's Birmingham office and online therapy for women throughout Alabama. She is accepting new clients beginning June 1, 2026.
A Little More About Anna Mills
Outside of the therapy room, Anna Mills enjoys spending time with her fiancé, family, and friends. You will often find her on walks with her chocolate lab Blanton, curled up with a good mystery novel, or planning her next travel adventure — always eager to experience new places and try new foods.
She started her career because she believes every woman deserves to feel seen — not just in the easy seasons, but especially in the hard ones.