Allyn St. Lifer, LCSW
770-953-4744 ext. 16
Allyn St. Lifer joined Powers Ferry Psychological Associates in July 2008 after moving from Boston where she had a successful private practice for 29 years. Utilizing a positive, collaborative approach while providing a safe, nurturing environment, she helps individuals and couples to heal old wounds and patterns which often stem from unresolved issues and/or traumas from childhood and can also result from the type of parenting they received. Furthermore, she teaches people new ways of coping with past traumas and daily stresses of everyday life. As a result, clients not only develop a stronger sense of self, but they also feel more empowered to take charge of their lives and make healthy, thoughtful decisions enabling them to reach their full potential.
Believing that individuals respond differently to different types of treatment, she utilizes a wide variety of modalities- cognitive behavioral methods, family systems theory, body/mind techniques as well as an ego state model known as the Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy or DNMS (www.dmnsinstitute.com). Ego state models are helpful in addressing the different parts of the self that contribute to one’s inability to move forward in one’s life or “stuckness” and help an individual to break through old blocks and change patterns of thinking and behaving, thereby enabling one to live life fully. Allyn specializes in working with people who struggle with issues around relationship/intimacy, divorce, blended families, eating problems and related body image and self esteem difficulties, depression, anxiety, stress management, grief/loss and women’s issues, particularly transitioning into midlife.
While in Boston, Allyn developed, owned, and directed Slimworks, a comprehensive weight management program from a non-diet approach for nearly 30 years. Now in Atlanta she offers her knowledge, expertise, and support to individuals and groups by helping them to address and resolve the underlying emotional reasons for their overeating, improve their self esteem and body image, and develop healthy eating, exercise, and life plans to fit their lifestyles. New techniques and strategies for effectively dealing with life stresses are also taught. Using this multi-faceted approach, people learn to successfully lose weight, maintain it, and break free from the diet-deprivation-binge cycle.
Taking her experience and expertise from Slimworks. Allyn also sees patients who have had or are contemplating bariatric surgery. With her guidance patients examine and learn to manage the complexity of issues that they will be or are currently coping with post surgery including relationships, body and self image, emotions, stress and the many other changes they are facing. Patients are seen individually or in small groups.
Allyn has her Bachelors degree from Boston University in Psychology and English Literature. She received a Masters in Education from The Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and her Masters in Social Work from the Boston University School of Social Work. Allyn maintains dual clinical social work licenses in both Massachusetts and Georgia. She sees clients in the Marietta office.
