I am a laid back non-judgmental person who guides you as opposed to telling you. At the same time, I will give you a direct opinion if asked.

I like to create a calm, accepting environment where clients feel free to express their true feelings without fear of judgment. My hope is for clients to look forward to every session.

Stressed? Overwhelmed? Struggling with making life decisions? Congratulations! You've taken the first step towards seeking change. Listening to intuition and addressing what distresses you is a sign of strength. Respect, empathy, support, active listening, collaboration and confidentiality are a top priority and values that guide my practice. I welcome the opportunity to work with you to uncover your inner strengths and live your life reaching towards your fullest potential. Self-discovery and awareness occur in the context of a working therapeutic relationship; reasons why I feel the fit between therapist and patient is so important. I encourage you to follow your inner voice about what feels right when searching for a therapist. Each patient and couple is unique and therefore I use an individually tailored eclectic and flexible approach integrating techniques from various modalities depending on patients' needs. I encourage individuals and couples to be active participants in their treatment enabling them to explore previously undiscovered aspects of themselves. Within the context of the therapeutic relationship, patients can explore patterns of behavior related to beliefs, attitudes and past experiences. I would be happy to speak with you during a complimentary phone consultation. I warmly welcome your call or email.

I work to foster an environment of open communication, where clients feel safe to express knowing they won't be judged or their concerns disregarded.

At Laurel Fay and Associates, my colleagues and I are committed to providing you with a safe, caring environment in which we can address your unique situation. By carefully listening, I work to get behind the everyday surface of a situation to the underlying meaning. My systemic approach means I look to the dynamics between people rather than solely focusing on the internal workings of one person. Even in individual work, this approach can be helpful and empowering. I often use humor to gently but skillfully pinpoint specific issues and highlight areas of growth.

Feeling stuck in your relationship? Grieving a loss that others don’t seem to understand? Or struggling with anxiety that’s quietly hijacking your day-to-day life? You don’t have to face it alone. I help individuals and couples navigate anxiety, grief, and relationship conflict with compassion, clarity, and direction. My approach is rooted in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and systems-based counseling, which means I don’t just look at symptoms, I help you identify strengths, shift patterns, and build new ways forward. Whether you're in the middle of a crisis or just feeling numb and disconnected, therapy can be a space to reset. I use evidence-based techniques, paired with a healthy dose of empathy and occasional humor, to help clients feel both seen and supported. I believe healing happens when we feel safe enough to be real, and I create an environment that allows just that. Clients often come to me when they’re overwhelmed by relationship tension, family challenges, personal loss, or internal pressure to "keep it all together." Together, let's explore what’s working, what’s not, and what new choices are available to you. I’m licensed in Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Connecticut, and I offer virtual therapy for busy professionals and couples who want expert support without commuting or rearranging their lives. If you’re ready to move from surviving to thriving, whether in your relationship, your grief, or your inner world, let’s work together to build connection, clarity, and healing. Book a free consultation or visit my website to learn more.

**I have a limited number of in-person and telehealth sessions available. Please contact me to see if I am a good match and our schedules align.** My initial goal in therapy is to deeply understand the unique individual sitting across from me. I take a holistic approach to this task. I understand that the mind, body, spirit, and relationships are all connected and impacted by one another. I think of my clients as more than just a collection of problems and diagnoses. I want to understand your strengths and talents as well as your struggles and areas for growth. I also want to understand where you have come from and where you would like to go. As we better understand how your life story impacts your current feelings, motivations, and relationships, you will likely experience increased self-acceptance and the ability to make to make better decisions about your future. Intellectual insight alone, although useful, is often not enough to allow clients to fully make the kinds of life changes that they desire. Consequently, I also utilize methods from more action-oriented approaches to therapy that focus on obtaining new skills and practicing new behaviors. These skills are often focused on learning new ways of managing difficult feelings and improving communication and intimacy in relationships. I believe that a therapist and client should work together as a team. I will bring my energy, experience, and compassion to the therapeutic relationship. I ask you for openness, honesty, curiosity, and a willingness to experiment with new ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. My goal is to work with you to help you achieve a greater sense of happiness, peace, integrity, and satisfaction in your life.

My approach to therapy is down-to-earth, practical, and solution-oriented. As a clinical psychologist I have extensive training in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and have seen many clients improve using these techniques. I have helped people overcome their problems in a variety of settings including hospitals, university counseling centers, community health clinics, and schools.

At Power Counseling PLLC, we are five different clinicians. However, we have one thing in common. We are all committed to satisfactorily resolve the issues that the client brings to the therapy room. We work with individuals, couples, families and groups, offering individual, couple, family and group therapy. Our primary therapy modality is cognitive-behavioral therapy, but we also use solution focused therapy a lot. We are located in Washington DC, but we are licensed to practice in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Our director also offers clinical supervision for those who need it. Now, we offer only teletherapy. We believe that people can change, and that therapy is about assisting clients with what they need to change so that they can lead a healthy life and achieve their life’s goals. We assist our clients to attain self-exploration, resilience, empathy, and emotional empowerment. We firmly believe in the inherent inner powers of each individual to heal. We believe that everyone possesses the necessary internal resources to overcome emotional difficulty and flourish in life. This belief guides our approach to therapy. We strive to empower our clients, in a collaborative manner. Our goal is to provide a holistic, solution-focused, empathy-driven, and emotionally empowering therapy approach. That way, we support my clients to achieve the goals for which they seek therapy. We adopt an inherently collaborative approach. It’s like a partnership in which the client has a voice and can set the agenda for the sessions and take ownership of the outcome of our work together. We empower clients to make decisions about their care, with our guidance. The goal here is to work with the client to identify and implement effective solutions to the issues that they bring to the therapy room. As necessary, we educate and guide our clients to use internal and external resources available to them to heal. We work to empower clients to make decisions and take actions that align with their values and aspirations.

I view psychotherapy as a collaborative process of self-discovery that is both supportive and directive. As many problems stem from either escalating emotions or efforts to avoid them, time is spent exploring and trying to understand your distress to help you create a more satisfying and healthier way of living. To inform my work, I draw from three areas of theoretical research: cognitive behavioral theory (skills-focused), attachment theory (insight-focused), and neuroscience research (psychoeducation-focused re: the mind-body connection and physical response to trauma). When we listen to our emotions without judgment and try to understand what they are telling us, more often than not, we can figure out what we need to regain emotional peace, balance, and life satisfaction. Many of my clients are highly successful on the outside; leaders in their field, individuals who handle intense and stressful jobs. They are the ones that other people look to for insight and guidance. But on the inside, these clients often carry a great deal of weight from past difficulties, including feelings of tremendous anxiety, self-loathing, shame, and low-grade chronic depression, because they have never received the expertise needed to truly overcome their past experiences and maladaptive coping strategies they have developed. I bring my 30 years of experience as a trauma researcher, clinician, teacher, and clinical supervisor to every one of my sessions. I find my work inspiring and a privilege. Through our work together, my clients find someone who has the years of experience and expertise to create the sense of security needed to explore and understand these difficulties, and finally overcome them.

I offer clients a compassionate, trauma-informed, neurodivergence-affirming approach that honors both your history and your resilience. My work blends psychological insight with nervous system healing, so we don’t just explore obstacles, we build your capacity to regulate, recover, and reconnect to joy and meaning. Whether you’re seeking clarity through assessment (e.g., attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) evaluation, diagnostic testing) or healing through therapy (anxiety, burnout, relational stress), I tailor sessions to your pace, strengths, and life goals. Healing isn’t about masking pain, it’s about learning to feel more ease, joy, and steadiness in your body while living in alignment with what matters most.

If you feel anxious, sad, overwhelmed, or stuck, if you are frustrated by your family or relationships, navigating a challenging life transition, or are worn out by the stress of work, life, or parenting, my practice may be a good fit for you. My therapy style is collaborative, warm, and nonjudgmental, with room for humor. Together, we will work to improve your symptoms, gain a deeper understanding of your concerns, and bring about lasting change. I have extensive experience with college students, young adults, and mid-career professionals, with a particular focus on individuals navigating life transitions such as graduation, relationship changes, and the transition to parenthood. I also work well with clients who feel stuck professionally, struggle with work-life balance, or are considering a career change.