Meridian Counseling

11/07/2025

We’re Sandra Kushnir, LMFT and Anita Avedian, LMFT — two therapists who built our careers in completely different ways, coming together to bring you one powerful course.

From two perspectives, we created this program to give future and new therapists the honest guidance we wish we had early on:

🔹 Anita built a successful boutique, private-pay practice and leads a renowned anger management certification program.
🔹 Sandra founded a large insurance-based group practice with 200+ providers and built a CE training platform for developing clinicians.

One of us scaled through specialization and premium services…
The other scaled by serving the masses and building systems, teams, and infrastructure.

✨ Our mission?
To help you understand your path.
Because in the mental health field, there isn’t one “right” way to build a career.

Inside our course, we’ll guide you through self-reflection, realistic expectations, and actionable insights on:

✅ Starting your career
✅ Launching a practice
✅ Working in agencies
✅ Private pay vs. insurance
✅ Scaling, specialization, and long-term planning

Whether you dream of running a boutique practice, joining an agency, or eventually building a full company — Secretive Practice is here to prepare you for what’s ahead and support your growth every step of the way.

Let’s build the future of mental health care, together. 💛

11/06/2025

Schedule a complimentary consult with our couples-therapy team at Meridian Counseling and discover how you can move from “co-existing” to thriving together.

Learn practical, evidence-based strategies to make time for your relationship. Discover how couples can nurture emotional intimacy, manage stress, and build stronger connections despite busy lives.

11/06/2025

Thinking about your practicum or field placement? Discover why underserved communities are the best teachers you’ll ever have.

Discover the real-world challenges and meaningful rewards of working with underserved populations in mental health. Learn strategies, case studies, and insights tailored for graduate students and associates in the mental health field.

10/31/2025

Supporting someone living with an eating disorder can be overwhelming at times. Read this blog on how best to show up and show love.

Learn how to be there for someone struggling with an eating disorder. Discover supportive ways to listen, communicate, and encourage recovery with empathy and professional insight.

10/30/2025

Discover how working with a Cigna-in-network therapist can support you professionally with the blog post from Meridian Counseling:

Looking for a Cigna therapist for stress and anxiety? Learn how therapy through Cigna can help you reduce anxiety, manage stress, and rebuild emotional resilience with expert, evidence-based care.

10/30/2025

Fall festivities were in full swing at Utah’s Thrills and Chills event - bringing our staff together for a season of connection and celebration. 🍁

10/29/2025

As we come to the end of just being “us”- the lessons, love, tears, adventures and cycles we have experienced, I can’t help but feel grateful to do life with someone like .

As a therapist, one of the most important things I say to clients is: be careful who you marry it’s the most important decision you’ll ever make in your life. I truly believe that.

This past year, has been magical in so many ways- and we have grown so much both as people and as a unit. The biggest lessons and takeaways as we start this new adventure of parenthood and an new family dynamic are this:

1. Intentions matter most. Always seek to understand the intentions behind behaviors, give grace to those that have good intentions, protect yourself from those that don’t.

2. Everything is for the best. Even if it doesn’t seem like it in the moment, even if it’s the darkest place you have ever been, even if all logic doesn’t make it make sense as to “why”- trust that the universe is giving you this trial for your higher good.

3. Let go. Let people, things, ego, judgement, fear, scarcity and spaces that you have outgrown go. Not everyone or everything is meant to follow you into your next chapter. It means you’re growing and evolving.

4. Forgive, but don’t forget. Let resentment go, understand why people hurt you (hurt people hurt others), make meaning of those relationships and experiences, and forgive them. But take the lessons and integrate them- become better and wiser, so next time you respond better.

5. Nothing is black or white. There is good in the bad, and bad in the good. It’s that way for a reason, you just have to see it differently to understand that.

6. Spirituality is vital. It doesn’t have to be religion, but you do have to believe in something bigger than yourself. It gives you a moral compass. It gives you community. It gives you a value system to live your life by and see things that happen to you through a more hopeful lens. It give you hope. It guides you. Find it (whatever it means to you) and live into it- everything will start to change once you do.

With love to this cycle ending and a new chapter beginning. - Sanj ✨🤍🙏🏻🐞🐶

10/27/2025

Finding calm in connection - our San Diego team gathered by the coast for a restorative fall staff event featuring a sound bath meditation and ocean serenity. 🌊✨

10/26/2025

Need help finding a program covered by Anthem? Meridian is in-network for IOP, outpatient, group therapy, individual, couples, child, family, and medication management.

Looking for an Anthem substance abuse specialist? Learn how Anthem-covered addiction treatment helps individuals achieve recovery, stability, and long-term healing through compassionate, evidence-based care.

10/24/2025

You don’t have to carry the weight of silence. Read our latest article — The Hidden Wounds of Sexual Trauma: Long-Term Effects on Women’s Mental Health and Recovery — to understand how trauma lives in the body and mind, and what healing can truly look like.

Explore the long-term impact of sexual trauma on women’s mental health, including depression, PTSD, and intimacy challenges. Learn how to heal and rebuild through trauma-informed care, therapy, and support.

10/23/2025

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in the field for years, this read can strengthen your understanding and help you embody empathy more authentically with clients.

Learn what empathy truly means in therapy, why it’s essential for healing, and how aspiring therapists can cultivate it through presence, reflection, and practice.

10/22/2025

🌿 Meridian Counseling — Now Accepting New Clients without a waitlist

At Meridian Counseling, we’re dedicated to helping you find balance, healing, and long-term growth — at every stage of your journey.

We’re proud to offer comprehensive, in-network mental health services designed to meet you where you are:

✨ Individual, Family, Couples and Child Therapy – Evidence-based treatment for anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, and more
👥 Group Therapy – Supportive spaces for connection and growth across various focus areas
💊 Medication Management – Compassionate psychiatric care and medication support
💬 Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) – Structured, evidence-based treatment for individuals seeking a higher level of care while maintaining daily life
🏠 In-Person & Virtual Options – Flexible appointments across California and Utah, available from the comfort of home or in one of our modern clinic settings
We are in-network with most major insurance plans and make it easy to get started.

💡 How to Become a Client:
1️⃣ Visit: www.meridian-counseling.com
2️⃣ Click “Begin Your Journey"
3️⃣ Complete a short intake form — our team will match you with the right provider or program and ensure your services are covered by your insurance. We also have options for private pay if that is what you are looking for!

Healing should be accessible, compassionate, and tailored to you. We hope we can join you on this journey.

Unlock mental wellness with Meridian Counseling. Find personalized therapy that fits your life & budget. Get started with insurance-covered care today.