Anne Baker Mental Health Counseling, PLLC

12/11/2025

Here's some "inside baseball" for you all:

When insurance companies don't update their databases of participating providers, it allows them to claim they have enough providers when they really don't. This is called a "ghost network", because the providers don't actually exist. This is a violation of both state and federal law.

I left the Carelon Behavioral Health insurance panel, and by extension the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield panels on January 1, 2025. I am still listed as "in-network" for both BCBS plans. There is no way for me to remove myself from the website. I have tried multiple times. I repeatedly disappoint potential clients who found me on the BCBS websites when I tell them I'm not actually in network. My website has accurate information, but so few folks actually check anything other than the health insurance website.

When I worked for a group practice, Carelon assigned my phone number to both myself and a former colleague, and I still get calls for her. We have been trying for more than 5 years to get that corrected to no avail. My colleague is missing out on opportunities, and potential clients hit a dead end with me.

This kind of database mismanagement is why it is so difficult for people to find a provider who works for them. The entities listed above had been sued multiple times over this, most recently this year, and still it continues.

11/13/2025

My newest newsletter is live! The search for a therapist is confusing and exhausting, here's why it's so hard.

Ultimately, a therapist's trainings, theory, experience and skills are useless if you don't like them.

11/08/2025

ADHD is not laziness! I say this at least 5x a week.

10/22/2025

My latest newsletter. For everyone who wants to build community but is afraid of rejection. Featuring the Schenectady Greenmarket!

Being in community doesn't necessarily mean being friends with people. I've come to think of it as being known to others; where your presence or absence is noted.

09/25/2025

My own executive dysfunction delayed this post over the summer. But I'm back! And hopefully will be posting more frequently.

Previous Tyranny of Doing posts: Trauma, Activism, Home and Family A huge section of my practice focuses on folks with ADHD and Autism. Some clients come to me already diagnosed, and some come for a different reason and we determine over time that many of their struggles are connected to

06/10/2025

My latest post in the Tyranny of Doing series, this time about Household Management and Parenting.
"American societal standards tell mothers that we should parent like we don’t work and work like we don’t parent. It is helpful to remember that our societal standards of cleanliness and parenting are based on a time when many women did not work outside the home."

American societal standards tell mothers that we should parent like we don’t work and work like we don’t parent. It is helpful to remember that our societal standards of cleanliness are based on a time when many women did not work outside the home.

05/14/2025

My latest newsletter post on the intersection of the Tyranny of Doing and Activism.

I find the “Tyranny of Doing” to show up a lot in activism spaces, especially online. Feeling helpless, and the anxiety that comes with it, often feeds into the internal and external pressure to “Do Something”.

04/23/2025

I appreciate her posts so much. Her whole page is ADHD education. Also, I know this applies to at least a few of my clients.

04/09/2025

My latest post about Doing and the effects of trauma.


A common theme I hear among my clients is guilt or shame for not "doing something" when something bad happens to them. Or shame about perceived pressure to "do something" to solve a situation that is ultimately out of their hands. I notice my own internal pressure to "do something" whether it is about injustices, the cleanliness of my house, or to do something to augment my income. This newsletter is 100% an offshoot of that internal pressure

A common theme I hear among my clients is guilt or shame for not "doing something" when something bad happens to them. Or shame about perceived pressure to "do something" to solve a situation that is ultimately out of their hands. I notice my own internal pressure to "do something"

04/02/2025

"Do No Harm, But Take No S**t" is kind of my motto in life and in the therapy room. My clients all know I'm a very straightforward person. I've had supervisors who told me I was too blunt, too pushy. I had a high school principal refer to me as "vicious" after I refused to give in on a boundary and expressed my frustration with being pushed. I'm the right therapist for lots of people and the wrong one for lots more. And that's ok.

The second photo is my favorite essential oil blend that I often diffuse in session: Aura Cacia "Chill". It has lavender, peppermint, orange, and patchouli.

03/14/2025

My latest post: "Grief is An Appropriate Reaponse." There is much to grieve, and it's important to make space for that! I get really nerdy about the intersection of grief and capitalism. And I offer some suggestions on how to take care of yourself.

https://the-skeptical-therapist.ghost.io/grief-is-an-appropriate-response/

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03/06/2025

I've started a blog! I'll link to it on my website as well. This will be a collection of my thoughts and responses to mental health, the chaos that is current events, parenting, and other areas. I will also eventually have resources available for sale as well.

Reflections on the intersection of mental health and chaos.