Rev. Peggy Ann "Serena" Hemmer , LCSW

Rev. Peggy Ann "Serena" Hemmer brings over two decades of professional experience to her counseling practice, offering a holistic, creative approach that attends to the relationships between mind, body, and spirit. She prefers to be called Serena and has provided clinically grounded counseling for children ages 3 and up, adults, couples, and families since 2004. Prior to her clinical practice she spent ten years working within county and state departments of mental health and substance abuse, which contributed to a broad familiarity with diverse clinical settings and client needs.

Serena holds a Bachelor of Social Work, earned summa cum laude from Capital University, and a Master of Social Work from The Ohio State University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - LCSW - which is a licensure that denotes advanced training and clinical practice in social work. In Florida she maintains the FL LCSW license SW14761. Her additional certifications include Rational Hypnotherapy, Gottman Couple's Counseling, and Spiritual Life Coaching, and she is an ordained metaphysical New Thought minister.

Her clinical work integrates expressive arts, play, movement practices such as Tai Chi and Qi Gong, and somatic-informed methods, which can be especially helpful with children and adolescents. She established an Expressive Arts Clinical Program at a behavioral health residential center for youth and has guided clients using rational hypnotherapy for issues such as anxiety, phobias, and addictive behaviors. Serena is also certified as a Reiki Master Teacher, an Advanced Theta Healing practitioner, and an Access Bars Practitioner, and she has taught Qi Gong and Tai Chi for the State of Ohio employees.

Serena founded a private practice in 2006 in Worthington, Ohio, later moving to Westerville, and currently practices in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Over the years she has developed and presented workshops for providers and families on topics including maternal depression and infant effects, advantages of Tai Chi, moving through recovery, expressive arts in adolescent residential counseling, bullying, separation and attachment for foster and adopted children, and distress screening. Her publications include the book I Am Me, I Am, A Pearl's Wisdom Book (2020) and the article I Don't Need Counseling.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support

Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on patterns of connection formed in relationships and helps people understand how early attachment experiences influence current bonds and emotional responses. It can be useful for relationship challenges, attachment issues, and family dynamics.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a practical, skills-oriented approach that examines how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact. It helps people identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop coping strategies for anxiety, depression, stress, and other problems.

The Gottman Method is a structured approach for couples that emphasizes communication skills, conflict management, and strengthening friendship and trust in relationships. It is commonly used for improving relationship satisfaction and resolving recurring conflicts.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and the therapist works collaboratively with each person to identify techniques that match their needs, goals, and preferences. Licensed professionals will tailor methods and adjust them over time so the work fits the client’s evolving priorities.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions can occur by video call or phone, and therapists can also conduct live chat or text-based messaging for additional support between sessions. These options make it easier to access therapy from different locations, to fit scheduling needs, and to maintain continuity of care when in-person visits are not possible.