From Anne, LCSW-S

One of my first loves (unless you count Neil Diamond) is books. It feels like a welcome inheritance from my grandmother, to my mother, to me, and now to my daughter. I don’t know how to live better than any human, but through a life devoted to reading, listening to, and telling stories, I do know how to derive a cohesive narrative that helps us make meaning of our lives. Throughout my continuing education, I’m learning that love and compassion, though hard-won through facing our and each other’s pain, are at the heart of my understanding of justice and just relationships: putting our human potential first while acknowledging that we all make mistakes and need to lovingly hold ourselves and each other accountable so we can do better next time.

Some key cultural components of my identity that I believe are relevant in my practice are my whiteness, motherhood, being a cisgendered woman married to a loving white man, being raised upper middle class, a daughter, and a friend. I am an “Okie” in my blood though I’ve not lived in Oklahoma City since I left for college. In much of my heart, I am a New Yorker, having pursued my professional passion and established my beautiful family there for 12 years (hence I maintain a license there). Houston is starting to feel like a home 5 years later as I see my efforts to build community, even amid a pandemic, pay off.

I first worked in public relations, then publishing, until I finally followed what was most true. I got my Master’s in Social Work in New York City. Then I pursued intensive training in couple and family therapy, specifically exploring how issues of power, privilege, and oppression play out in relationship dynamics. My vision for my life and my practice is grounded in the pursuit of justice as I understand it. As my son’s beloved Spider-Man espouses, with great power comes great responsibility. I believe it is our human responsibility to use the power of our imaginations to cultivate a more just world. I believe that starts with us.

From Tahira, Clinical Intern

In the complexities of relationships, we encounter both wounds and healing. Within safe havens like ours, we rediscover peace and foster transformative growth. Remember, you're never alone here.

My approach to therapy is grounded in strength, abolition, decolonization, and cultural competence. While I may be the clinician, I wholeheartedly believe that you are the expert of your own experience, and I welcome your feedback. Trained in CBT, trauma-informed care, and motivational interviewing, and familiar with DBT, I also dedicate time to studying polyvagal theory and nervous system dysregulation.

As a second-generation Desi, I empathize with identity struggles and advocate for empowerment. This space welcomes all backgrounds. Let's embark on this journey together.

Why Just Us?

"Just Us" is a multiple entendre:

  • part calling out justice as being at the heart of the practice. Learning to disrupt power-based relationships in favor of equity-based relationships;

  • part emphasizing the safety of “just you and me”;

  • part acknowledging that, no matter what we’re doing here on this earth, it’s just us here so we might as well love and support ourselves and one another.

Just Us offers a caring and inclusive space where you can freely explore the intricacies and richness of your story. The focus on familial and cultural contexts of each person's journey increases our capacities for understanding, including across differences.

With a reputation for being empathetic, warm, highly skilled, and a disruptor of the status quo, Anne Slater practices leading JustUs in her integrity, with a commitment to help people clear a path toward a more loving, more just way to live.