Therapy Group of DC
Angelyn Wollen, MSW, LICSW
Mind-body therapy for anxiety, infertility, and life transitions
About Angelyn Wollen
If anxiety has been running your days, or something has upended your sense of where life was headed, like infertility, a career change, or a relationship reaching a new stage, I can help you slow down and make sense of it. Many of the people I work with are very good at holding everything together, and quietly worn out from it.
My work starts from the idea that mind and body aren’t separate. Stress shows up in sleep, in tight shoulders, and in a stomach that won’t settle, as much as in racing thoughts. Old patterns show up too, often in ways that are easy to miss. I want to understand both what’s happening for you now and the history that shaped how you respond to it.
“I hope you will gain a deeper understanding of yourself and what you bring to the world. I want you to leave therapy feeling equipped and empowered to navigate life’s ongoing challenges and live in a way that feels meaningful and authentic to you.”
Angelyn Wollen, MSW, LICSW, Therapist DC
My Approach
I draw on psychodynamic therapy, which means paying attention to how earlier experiences and relationships shape the way you think, feel, and connect today. I also draw on Internal Family Systems (IFS), which I’ve been training in through the IFS Institute. IFS starts from the idea that we all carry different parts, like the one that keeps everything running and the one that’s exhausted or scared underneath, and it helps you get curious about those parts instead of fighting them. When you want concrete ways to work with anxious thoughts, I bring in tools from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). I’m also continuing my training in psychoanalytic theory at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies, because the deeper, insight-oriented side of this work is where I keep investing.
I pay close attention to the body, too. Emotion often registers physically before we have words for it: a tight chest while you describe a hard week, or breath that goes shallow when a certain name comes up. Noticing those signals together, with the help of mindfulness-based practices, can open up what talking alone sometimes can’t.
In sessions, I lean toward exploration over a fixed agenda. I’m warm and steady, and I’d rather understand what’s going on for you than rush to fix it. I also keep an eye on where you want to go, so when you’re ready for something practical, we’ll build it together.
Interested in working with Angelyn Wollen?
Take the first step — we’ll help you get started.
Infertility and Reproductive Transitions
I’m a licensed independent clinical social worker in Washington, DC, and a lot of my work is with women moving through reproductive transitions: trying to conceive, going through fertility treatment and the long stretches of waiting, or figuring out what comes next when the plan changes.
Infertility has a way of touching everything at once. It can strain a relationship, make work hard to focus on, and turn ordinary moments, like a friend’s announcement or a baby shower invitation, into something you have to brace for. Many people feel alone in it, even around people who love them. There’s room here for all of it: the grief, the hope, the frustration, and the exhausting in-between of waiting for results.
Working With Couples
I see couples as well as individuals. Some come in because the same argument keeps circling back, or because they’ve stopped really talking. Some come for premarital counseling and want to build good habits early. Others keep getting stuck on the same pressure points, like in-laws, money, or balancing work and family. Some are trying to figure out whether their relationship should continue, and some have already decided to end it and want to do that with less damage. Whatever brings you in, I help each of you say what you actually need in a way the other person can hear.
If you’ve been holding it together for a long time and you’d like a place where your mind and body both get attention, I’m here for that work.
Educational Background
Common Questions
Mostly, it’s a chance for us to get to know each other. I’ll ask what brought you in, what’s been going on lately, and a bit about your history, and you’re welcome to ask me anything about how I work. From the start, my goal is for you to feel seen, heard, and comfortable being yourself. You don’t need a clear agenda. We’ll begin with where you are today and start sorting out where you want to go.
I use each one for a different question. Psychodynamic work asks why a pattern keeps repeating and how earlier relationships shape your reactions now. Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you get to know the different parts of yourself, like the part that criticizes and the part that feels criticized, so you can work with them instead of against them. CBT gives you practical tools for the moment, like catching an anxious thought and responding to it differently. I usually start with understanding and bring in the other tools when they’ll help, and along the way I pay attention to what’s happening in your body, since stress and emotion often show up there first.
Yes. Infertility counseling is one of my specialties, and I see both individuals and couples for it at our Dupont Circle office and by telehealth. Individual sessions give you room to say things you might hold back in front of a partner, like resentment, or doubts about continuing treatment. Couples sessions help when the two of you are coping differently, one wanting to talk about it constantly while the other needs to set it aside, and that difference has started to feel like distance. If you’re not sure which fits, we can start with whichever feels easier and adjust from there.
Yes, I see teens 16 and older. Before my clinical training, I spent two years teaching and mentoring middle and high school students with learning, emotional, and mental health challenges, and I’ve worked in school-based mental health. I’m comfortable with the pressures that tend to show up at this age, from academics and friendships to figuring out who you are apart from your family.
Yes. I see clients both in person at our Dupont Circle office and by secure video anywhere in DC.
Ready — or still deciding?
Either way, we’ll make it easy. Get started with Angelyn Wollen directly, or tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll connect you with the right therapist. Takes a few minutes — no commitment.
Transparent Pricing & Insurance Support
Life in DC can be complicated. Insurance paperwork shouldn’t be. We handle the paperwork to make reimbursement simple.