Anne Holen, MS, MFT, HSE

Marriage and Family Therapist, Holistic Sex Educator, Co-creating Social Worlds Symposium Producer
New York, NY
Email: anneholen.co@gmail.com
Web: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/anne-holen-new-york-ny/1368270

Originally from Angola, Anne Holen is a NYC-based Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Holistic Sex Educator, working with individuals and couples at Kingfisher Marriage and Family Therapy. Drawing on a sex-positive, trauma-informed, and intersectional framework, Anne fosters spaces where clients feel open to bring their most authentic selves. Her mixed cultural background inspires her to question norms, embrace the fluidity of our identities, and approach each person with deep curiosity and care. She specializes in supporting clients navigating relational conflict and disconnection, problem-saturated self-narratives, and the various ways past wounds can shape how we see and engage with the world. She holds particular attunement to intercultural couples, LGBTQ+ and queer communities, and those in ethically non-monogamous and other non-traditional relationship structures.

Anne’s commitment to relational practice extends beyond the therapy room into community building and collective world-making. Most recently, she served as the Producer and Director of Operations of the Co-creating Social Worlds Symposium: Reimagining Our Personal, Public, and Political Lives, a gathering co-organized by the Mercy University Marriage and Family Therapy program and the Taos Institute to explore how relational and social constructionist practices can help us during these challenging, divisive times. She has also volunteered as a rape crisis and domestic violence advocate at the Crime Victims Treatment Center, providing crisis counseling to survivors in hospital emergency departments, and served as a Sexual Violence Support Specialist with RAINN. This advocacy work is close to her heart and rooted in a deep belief that every person deserves to be met with dignity, and that healing is possible when survivors are truly seen and supported.

Anne holds a Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from Mercy University, where she served as a Research Assistant in the Relational Play Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Saliha Bava, and was honored as Commencement Speaker for the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. She also holds a certification in holistic sex education from the Institute for Sexuality Education and Enlightenment. Her undergraduate honors thesis at CUNY John Jay College focused on human rights violations against women and children in Africa, reflecting a longstanding commitment to questioning “norms” that cause harm and perpetuate exclusion and silence.

Shaped by living across cultures and identities, Anne is driven by a passion for bringing people together across differences and creating spaces that foster genuine dialogue and belonging. She approaches her work (and life) with a playful yet grounded presence, continuously attending to the broader social systems shaping the lives of the people she serves.