Candace Grahl

If you're in the thick of perimenopause or menopause and feel like you don't quite recognize yourself anymore — the mood swings, the anxiety that came out of nowhere, old wounds resurfacing you thought you'd dealt with — you're not imagining it, and you're not alone in it.

I'm a licensed professional counselor (LPC-MHSP) in Tennessee with a master's in clinical mental health counseling and training in EMDR, DBT, CBT, EFT, and Motivational Interviewing. I work with women navigating this specific transition, helping you understand what's happening beneath the surface so we can do the deeper work — not just manage symptoms, but actually get to what's underneath them.

I bring experience from private practice, clinical roles in group practice, and residential treatment work at for substance abuse.

I believe emotions are just information, not something to fix or push past. When something feels off — anxiety, irritability, a grief you can't quite name — I want to understand what it's pointing to, not just help you manage it.

For many of my clients, midlife hormonal changes are what bring old material to the surface — trauma, unresolved grief, patterns from earlier in life that suddenly feel urgent again. I draw on evidence-based approaches and tailor them to what you actually need, so we're not following a rigid method for its own sake. I do the work underneath what's showing up on the surface, so the shift lasts beyond just feeling better this week.

I'll be direct with you, and I'll also go at your pace. Therapy works best when it feels collaborative, not like something being done to you.

Our first session is mostly about me getting to know you — what's bringing you in, what you've already tried, what you're hoping is different on the other side of this. We'll talk about your personal history, but you're in control of how much detail you share and when.

By the end of that first session, you should have a sense of whether I'm a good fit for you, and I'll share some initial thoughts on how I'd approach working together. There's no pressure to commit beyond that first conversation — therapy works best when it's the right match, and it's okay if it takes a session or two to know.