Meet Anne, Founder of the Emerald Edge
Therapist | Consultant | Collaborator
For over 20 years, Anne Wilzbacher has supported adolescents, young adults, adults, and families in navigating their most challenging and meaningful transitions. With a strong foundation in wilderness therapy, transitional living programs, and clinical counseling centers, she brings a rare combination of depth, sophistication, and authenticity to her work.
Anne began her career as a field guide and went on many years later to create and direct Emerald Arrow, a nationally respected young adult wilderness program she has led for over eight years. She’s known for her ability to stay present in the hard moments—whether with individuals facing trauma or families navigating treatment—and for helping others move forward with courage, clarity, and heart.
She holds a Master’s in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in multiple states.
At the core of Anne’s work is a deep belief in the human capacity for transformation. She brings a direct yet compassionate presence, a sharp clinical eye, and a spirit of collaboration to every relationship—whether she’s providing therapy, consulting with programs, or supporting parents navigating the treatment process. Her style is relational, real, and refreshingly unpretentious. She values professionalism and quality of care, while also infusing her work with playfulness, creativity, and courage.
Through The Emerald Edge Institute, Anne offers counseling, consulting, and collaborative services for individuals, families, and organizations committed to meaningful change. Her work is about more than healing—it’s about helping people and systems move boldly toward what’s most true and will make a difference that endures.
Those who know Anne know her as a seer of beauty, a seeker of truth, and someone who has always leaned into the edges—of life, of people, and what’s possible in pain. Raised with four older brothers, she credits her strength, directness, and deep relational values to her family. Guided by her parents, she carries a grounded sense of integrity in all she does. She’s cultivated a lifelong commitment to staying present in discomfort, believing that the most powerful transformations happen when we slow down and listen deeply. When the mind is still, the soul speaks—this is one of her guiding beliefs, and it echoes throughout the work she does every day.
Approach
Anne’s work is grounded in psychodynamic theory, the belief that unconscious patterns shape our relationships, choices, and emotional experiences. With care and insight, she helps clients surface and shift these patterns to create more freedom and self-trust.
Her clinical training also includes Brainspotting, DBT, somatic practices, and mindfulness-based therapy. Anne is especially passionate about group psychotherapy and process work, believing that healing happens in relationship—and that groups often illuminate the dynamics we most need to explore. Her extensive training allows her to work integratively, weaving together relational depth, nervous system awareness, and practical tools for lasting change.
Anne’s style is direct but deeply compassionate, blending professionalism with playfulness, clarity, and real human connection. She is known for her ability to walk beside people in darkness while holding a vision for what’s possible.
The Emerald Edge Way
Deep wellness through courageous authenticity.
The Emerald Edge Institute was created to offer something bold, real, and essential: A place to come home to yourself. Anne believes in honoring ancient wisdom while addressing the timeless challenges of modern life.
The Emerald Edge Way is about stepping into your edges—your truth, your wounds, your brilliance—and finding clarity, nourishment, and deep trust in the process. It’s about choosing to live and lead from your whole self.
Ancient solutions to timeless problems.
Real change through presence, connection, and bold movement.
