Licensed Professional Counselor

JoAnn Alexis Chrysanthus is a second generation Greek-American, her grandparents having arrived at Ellis Island in the early 1900’s. The family settled in Parma, Ohio, where JoAnn and her siblings were taught the values and customs of their Greek heritage. JoAnn enrolled in Liberty Baptist College (now Liberty University) and graduated in 1988 with a B.S. in Clinical Psychology. She furthered her education through Lynchburg College (now the University of Lynchburg), earning an M.Ed. in Agency Counseling in 1991, and in 1994 became a Licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia, her adopted home.

JoAnn comes to Rosebrook Counseling Center with a wealth of professional experience in the counseling field. While an undergraduate, she served as the Hotline counselor working with individuals and families regarding crisis pregnancies, abusive relationships, and rape. She also volunteered on the Suicide Hotline and with Hospice of Central Virginia and The Crisis Center. Shortly after graduation, JoAnn assumed the role of Social Worker/Family Counselor at Patrick Henry Boys and Girls Plantation, providing ongoing individual and family counseling services, as well as consultation with school administrators, guidance counselors, and the teachers of Patrick Henry’s children and adolescents. She has held Child Protective Services worker positions in both Lynchburg City and Amherst County, and provided individual counseling services and ongoing family services. She also provided counseling for adults suffering from severe mental illness through Central Virginia Community Services/Lynchburg Counseling Center (now Horizon Behavioral Health). JoAnn was also an employee of Centra Health for 19 years, serving as an Emergency Mental Health Clinician. In this role, she performed mental health evaluations/assessments for children, adolescents, adults, and geriatric populations, providing crisis and brief counseling as appropriate. She also collaborated with patients, families, physicians, and psychiatrists as needed, and coordinated safe and appropriate dispositions, including psychiatric hospital placements across the state.

From 1994 until joining Rosebrook, JoAnn’s “counselor home” was with The Madeline Center, where she had been a beloved and respected member of TMC’s family of professionals. As a therapist in private practice, JoAnn has provided individual, family, and group counseling to those confronting life challenges and struggling with mental disorders.

JoAnn works with: Women and men’s issues, sexual orientation, LGBTQ issues, the transgender population, depression, couples, anxiety, trauma, life transitions (death, divorce, etc.), and has provided court-ordered anger management group counseling to men.

JoAnn is looking forward to this new chapter in her professional career at Rosebrook Counseling Center and welcomes new referrals.

JoAnn is also a professional photographer, having photographed hundreds of individuals, families, weddings, civic events, and Little League Teams since her arrival here in Virginia. She enjoys visiting her 92 year old mother in Ohio, where she and her Mom prepare Greek delicacies for her friends in Virginia. She is also a lifelong advocate for animal rights. She and her life partner provide forever homes to an ever-changing host of fur kids, each of whom bask in the unconditional love and care of their new home.