Red Couch Counseling LLC

Red Couch Counseling LLC Providing evidence based mental healthcare to the community
Four locations: Johnston, Ankeny, Ames and Grinnell.

Provider of evidence based mental health services. If you or a family member is struggling with depression, anxiety or other problems, help is available. Choosing a counselor can feel overwhelming and scary. Relax, and feel free to call and schedule a consultation and ask questions.

Know the difference: Panic attacks are intense! Panic disorder is the ongoing fear of their return.
02/25/2026

Know the difference: Panic attacks are intense! Panic disorder is the ongoing fear of their return.

More writing on attachment and acceptance...The truth is that we won’t always know the full story as to why some people ...
02/25/2026

More writing on attachment and acceptance...

The truth is that we won’t always know the full story as to why some people don’t choose us.

We can hear the story they tell us - but they may not even fully know why they chose to close the door themselves.

And we can get into deep trouble when we begin to personalize endings that actually have nothing to do with us at all.

We may have been a terrible attachment pairing.

We may have had completely different life visions that the other “just happened” to see more clearly first.

Our presence may have been a subtle reminder of something they weren’t ready or willing to deal with.

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do any self-reflection work when someone ends things with us.

We must.

We must pay attention to patterns and assess if we are always the common denominator.

We must be willing to learn and refine and implement healthier behaviors if we continue to push everyone away.

We must do the necessary grieving and inner child work to un-clog ourselves from our past in order to make space for new possibilities.

And if we are genuinely doing (both) of these things, then we have to eventually surrender to the fact that not everyone is meant for us.

Not everyone can handle our flaws or will want to. Some people may be too triggered by us and that has to be okay even when it hurts.

That is what dating and assessing compatibility is all about.

Our work is to not personalize another’s refusal to choose us.

Our work is to take in feedback that is helpful to our growth and apply it.

Our work is to discern between what is ours to own vs. what has nothing to do with us.

Our work is to still choose to grow and want to be the best version of ourselves while we simultaneously accept that we will always have limitations and flaws.

Our work is knowing that the right partner for us will fully choose to embrace those parts of us even when it’s sometimes terrifying and hard for them to do.

How do you manage this experience?

How do you take care of yourself when feelings of rejection come to visit?

✨ Meet Your Practitioner: Ashley ✨Ashley brings extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and their famil...
02/23/2026

✨ Meet Your Practitioner: Ashley ✨
Ashley brings extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and their families, along with adults ages 18–35. She is a personable, committed therapist who uses a solution focused approach with an emphasis on emotion focused and schema therapies 🧠💛

Ashley strives to create a space that feels playful, comfortable, and supportive, helping clients feel at ease while working toward real growth and success. She works with a wide range of concerns including anxiety, depression, parent child relationships, grief, stress, self esteem, and life transitions 🌱

Ready to get started? We would love to connect you with Ashley 🤍
📅 Click here to schedule an appointment
📞 (515) 954-9865
📧 Ashley@redcouchcounselingdsm.com

We are here to help. ✌️💫
02/23/2026

We are here to help. ✌️💫

Self-gaslighting can be a dangerous cycle that many people fall into without even realizing it. 💭 It's the act of questi...
02/20/2026

Self-gaslighting can be a dangerous cycle that many people fall into without even realizing it. 💭

It's the act of questioning your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and ultimately, constantly doubting yourself to a debilitating level. It can lead to feelings of insecurity, low self-esteem, and depression. Remember, your thoughts and feelings are valid, and it's important to trust yourself. If you're struggling with self-gaslighting, reach out to a trusted friend or therapist for support. You are not alone.

People who identify with the Fearful Avoidant Attachment Style often had a parent/caregiver that they felt both connecte...
02/20/2026

People who identify with the Fearful Avoidant Attachment Style often had a parent/caregiver
that they felt both connected to and deeply fearful of.

Their parent may have been abusive or were experiencing their own unresolved traumas that caused them to sometimes act in frightening ways.

Hal Shorey wrote these words in an article titled, Come Here, Go Away:

“The child cannot escape the anxiety coming from the environment and cannot be soothed by the parent. To make matters worse, the parent’s behavior might actually increase the child's anxiety and impel the child to once again approach the scary parent.”

The reason this attachment style can be so challenging is that the person has internal conflicting messages.

As adults, they want to get close to their intimate partner, but they feel intense anxiety just as they begin to depend and feel safe with them.

And this confusion can be very challenging for their partner.

Their partner is usually deeply frustrated as to how to support them and help them to feel safe in the relationship.

I highly recommend encouraging your partner to get professional support in a non-judgmental and gentle way.

And if you live somewhere where you don’t have access to one on one support, educating both yourself and your partner can go a long way.

“The Power of Attachment” by Diane Poole Heller is a great book that covers this attachment style (also called Disorganized).

Being in a relationship with someone who has such intense fears can be overwhelming.

I don’t want to sugarcoat or minimize that reality.

It’s important that you as a partner are taking care of yourself just as you are taking care of your partner.

It’s important that you are setting boundaries if your partner continues to make threats to leave.

Those “threats” are usually triggered by enormous fear of being hurt or overwhelmed.

However, your loving (yet firm) boundary can help them to finally acknowledge the work that they must courageously lean into.

Remember, you can’t do the work for your partner.

But you can absolutely choose to stand by their side, especially when they are taking ownership of their own healing.
✌️ 💫Happy Thursday my friends

Therapy is a process 🛋️🌱Sometimes it feels tough. Sometimes it feels raw. Sometimes it even feels repetitive.If you’ve b...
02/18/2026

Therapy is a process 🛋️🌱
Sometimes it feels tough. Sometimes it feels raw. Sometimes it even feels repetitive.
If you’ve been talking about the same thing for weeks, that’s not failure. That’s your mind pointing you toward something that still needs care and understanding.

Repetition often means you’re close to the heart of it, not stuck.

Give yourself time. Keep showing up. Healing doesn’t rush, and you don’t have to either.

Don’t quit on yourself or your mental health 💚
Learn more or schedule an appointment:
http://redcouchcounselingdsm.com

Warning... long post to read but worth it my friends ✌️Not every relationship challenge has to be dissected, is associat...
02/18/2026

Warning... long post to read but worth it my friends ✌️

Not every relationship challenge has to be dissected, is associated with trauma, or means that we have anxiety or relational avoidance. Relationships can sometimes be challenging for all of us, even those of us who feel fairly confident relating to others.

Relationships can sometimes be hard because humans are constantly evolving and are also innately complex.

Perhaps rather than constantly diagnosing ourselves and each other, we may be better served by normalizing and increasing our tolerance for unavoidable relationship challenges.

Learning to navigate the challenging terrains of our own inner world and the inner world of another is not for the faint of heart.

It can be really hard work.

Joy and connectedness is easy to be with.

But many relationships don’t dwindle down because they are having too much joy or connection (yes of course some do).

Many relationships struggle because challenging emotions come up and they are difficult to be with and tolerate.

Many relationships struggle because when challenging emotions come up, they are pushed back down, ignored, create polarization, or become blamed on the other person.

We each have to discover our own unique level of relational difficulty we can navigate and tolerate.

But we must all come face to face with some level of difficulty if we are in relationships for the long haul.

How do you navigate relational challenges?

How do you hold them?

What stories/fears come up for you when you are faced with them?

Can you differentiate between your own challenges that are awakened by relationship versus the challenges that are solely relational?

Do you reach out and let loved ones into this space?
Do you navigate these terrains alone?

The personal and the relational are not always so distinct.

Sometimes they blend.

Sometimes there are no clear answers here.
Sometimes we simply need a permission slip to acknowledge that relationships can be hard, and that doesn’t need to mean that anything is wrong with them🌻

✨ Meet Your Practitioner 🎨🧠Say hello to Taryn Pepping, LMHC, ATR-PNow accepting new clients in Ankeny 🌱Taryn is a licen...
02/16/2026

✨ Meet Your Practitioner 🎨🧠
Say hello to Taryn Pepping, LMHC, ATR-P
Now accepting new clients in Ankeny 🌱

Taryn is a licensed mental health counselor with a specialization in Art Therapy. She takes a collaborative, client-centered approach and often invites artmaking into sessions as a way to help clients process thoughts and emotions more fully. No art experience needed and creating is always optional. Just a willingness to try something new ✨

Her work is trauma-informed, culturally responsible, and affirming, using art in a way that safely engages both the mind and body. Taryn has experience working with adolescents and young adults navigating anxiety, depression, anger, identity concerns, and trauma.

While Art Therapy is central to her practice, Taryn also incorporates approaches like narrative therapy, CBT, motivational interviewing, and strengths-focused work, all tailored to your goals and comfort level 🤍

🎓 MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Art Therapy
📍 Licensed in Iowa
🎨 Member of the American Art Therapy Association
📞 Call (515) 954-9865
to schedule
📧 taryn@redcouchcounselingdsm.com
📅 Or click the link to schedule a ca

From all of us at Red Couch Counseling, Happy Valentine's Day! 💕 Wishing you a day full of love and joy! ✨
02/14/2026

From all of us at Red Couch Counseling, Happy Valentine's Day! 💕 Wishing you a day full of love and joy! ✨

Doubting your relationship sometimes.Going to therapy even when things feel “okay.”Having intrusive or uncomfortable tho...
02/13/2026

Doubting your relationship sometimes.
Going to therapy even when things feel “okay.”

Having intrusive or uncomfortable thoughts.
All of it is more common than you think. And none of it means something is wrong with you. 💭✨

Being human is messy, complicated, and deeply normal. Therapy can be a place to talk it through, learn about yourself, and find healthier ways to cope and grow. 🛋️🌱

You don’t have to have it all figured out to reach out. 💗

OCD isn’t just liking things neat or organized 🧼Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a real mental health condition that can...
02/11/2026

OCD isn’t just liking things neat or organized 🧼
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a real mental health condition that can deeply impact daily life, thoughts, and routines.

When we casually label habits as “OCD,” it can unintentionally minimize what many people truly live with every day 💙

Understanding and compassion matter. Support and proper care matter.
If this resonates with you or someone you love, you’re not alone 🤍

We’re here to help.

Address

1200 SW State Street, Suite 2c
Ankeny, IA
50023

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 9pm
Tuesday 8am - 9pm
Wednesday 8am - 9pm
Thursday 8am - 9pm
Friday 8am - 9pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+15159549865

Website

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