Dr. Zechella holds a PSYPACT credential and as such can provide telehealth to clients in most states. Check to see if your state has enacted PSYPACT.
Specialties & Therapeutic Approach
Anusha Zechella, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who uses an interpersonal approach in her work with individuals and couples. She views the therapeutic relationship as a central tool for understanding relational patterns, strengths, and areas of growth.
She integrates skills from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy (TLDP), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Her work is grounded in integrated, client-centered, feminist, and evidence-based principles. This approach helps build trust while supporting clients in developing practical tools to reduce distress.
Dr. Zechella works with a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD, LGBTQ+ issues, gender identity exploration, interpersonal violence, sexual assault, and adjustment difficulties. She has experience working with individuals, couples, and families across the lifespan.
Couples Therapy in Raleigh, NC
Dr. Zechella specializes in working with couples who are seeking to strengthen trust, improve communication, and better understand relational strengths and challenges. She often works with couples navigating infidelity, addiction, and other significant stressors within the relationship.
Her couples work is informed by Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), which focuses on identifying negative relational cycles that keep partners feeling disconnected or stuck. She helps couples slow these patterns down and develop new ways of responding to one another with greater clarity and emotional safety.
Dr. Zechella also supports couples when one partner is struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, life transitions, or perinatal mental health concerns. A particular strength of her work is helping couples decide how to move forward—whether that means recommitting to the relationship or navigating a thoughtful and respectful separation or divorce.
She works with couples who are considering separation, are actively separating, or have already separated. Dr. Zechella helps partners articulate their emotional needs, clarify goals, and create a plan that honors the well-being of everyone involved. She provides couples therapy in North Carolina and PSYPACT states, offering a space where both partners can feel seen, heard, and supported.
Family Therapy & Parent–Teen Work
Dr. Zechella also works with families who are experiencing distress, including families impacted by trauma affecting one or more members. Her work focuses on improving communication and helping families begin a collaborative healing process.
She has experience supporting families during developmental transitions, such as preparing a child to leave for college. In family work, Dr. Zechella often meets with parents and adolescents both individually and together. This structure allows for skill-building while modeling healthy and effective communication.
College Students & Young Adults
Dr. Zechella has specialized training and extensive experience working with college students and young adults. She has worked in multiple college counseling centers and has supported students with concerns ranging from homesickness to sexual assault and more complex mental health conditions.
At Breyta Psychological Services, she continues to work with young adults navigating periods of transition. This includes challenges related to identity development, academic pressure, relationships, sexual and gender identities, and major life decisions.
Her expertise in evidence-based therapies includes:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Training
- Time Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy (TLDP)
Education & Experience
Dr. Zechella earned her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and her M.A. in Psychology from The Catholic University of America. Prior to beginning her doctoral program, she worked at the American Psychological Association (APA). She completed both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Miami University.
She completed her predoctoral internship at Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of North Carolina. Her training spans a variety of settings, including inpatient psychiatry, community mental health, schools, university clinics, and college counseling centers.
Dr. Zechella previously served as Director of the Sexual Assault Clinic within the Counseling and Psychological Services Program at the University of Cincinnati. There, she provided care for survivors of sexual harassment, misconduct, and assault. This work contributed to her deep expertise in trauma and gender-based violence.
More recently, she previously served as Director of Couples and Family Therapy at Breyta Psychological Services and now holds the role of Clinical Director. She also provides supervision for postdoctoral fellows offering individual and couples therapy in North Carolina.
Dr. Zechella was a recipient of the 2018 Early Career Psychologist Credentialing Scholarship from the National Register of Health Service Psychologists.
Additional Trainings
- Dr. Zechella has completed extensive training in couples therapy treatment techniques such as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) on Attachment-Based Interventions for Couples in Crisis