My communication style is calm, caring, and supportive. I feel my role is to support not judge my clients. I am aware that each person is unique and has different needs. My goal is to make each person feel comfortable and validated.

I bring evidence-based knowledge to my therapy coupled with personal experience. I believe you will feel comfortable and not judged at all when working with me.

At Starobin Counseling we focus on helping people repair and strengthen their relationships with themselves and their relationships with others. We regard relationships as central to the therapeutic process. Some challenges in life are purely personal, but most problems express themselves in the intersections people have with other people. Therapy helps people repair their inner selves, often injured by relational ruptures, and learn and practice being in relational health with one another. Therapy helps people hear themselves think, experience feelings, gain new perspectives. We help people recognize and strengthen their own vitality and resiliency so they can unlock their capacity for compassionate and meaningful connections. We are a neurodiversity-minded, neurodiversity-affirming, gender-affirming, and culturally aware and sensitive practice.

Mary Alice Fields is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with 30 years of experience counseling couples, families, and individuals. Mary Alice earned her Master of Education (MEd) from Lindsey Wilson College.

Does your child struggle with stress and anxiety? Is it difficult for him or her to make positive choices, manage emotions or perform in school? Teenagers and young adults face unique challenges in life, and it can be very overwhelming for them and you, the parent. I work with adolescents and young adults, ages 12-25, to help them understand stress and anxiety. We work together to overcome their obstacles and self-doubts; helping them focus on building positive thinking and behaviors to achieve their life goals. Together, your child and I focus on his or her role in overcoming setbacks, embracing challenges, and utilizing skills like optimism, resilience and grit to achieve his or her ideal self. I employ positive psychology and solution-focused counseling to help your child set priorities, identify goals, and develop strategies for emotional and mental well-being. I understand the difficulties our young adults face everyday and I know each individual is capable of achieving their goals with proper supports! Contact me at MBS Performance Counseling today in order to help your son or daughter take the first step to setting priorities, creating positive thoughts and discovering the amazing things they can accomplish!

I am an empathetic and experienced therapist with a passion for empowering my patients through an individualized approach to wellness. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from North Carolina Central University and a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Washington, D.C. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Maryland. Since graduating with my master’s in 2018, I have worked with adolescents and adults from many cultural backgrounds who have experienced homelessness, anxiety, depression, trauma, and other life stressors. I specialize in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and I also draw from a range of other approaches because I believe therapy is most effective when it’s personalized for each person.

Our approach is first and foremost to offer acceptance and understanding. Our clinicians have a variety of theoretical orientations and approaches, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, play therapy, attachment-based therapy, emotion-focused therapy, and interpersonal therapy. All of us have training and experience with a family systems approach to therapy and are able to integrate this into our work.

If someone is struggling with today's news and events, surviving a difficult upbringing, or wrestling with issues of identity, the best thing they can do for themselves is to find that safe, affirming space that allows them to speak freely without fear of judgement. My goal is to provide the emotional, physical, and affirming space for that very thing to happen. My clientele consists of students, mental health professionals, veterans, seniors, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. I hold master's degrees in trauma informed counseling and the arts. Sometimes individuals have a block and the words are difficult to find. A more creative process can often reveal nonverbal cues and metaphors that can deepen understanding and healing. I help clients use imagery, symbolism, and creative expression to uncover meaning and insight. I currently work with individuals ages 8 and up, I have worked with anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, grief and loss, life transitions, and trauma-related issues. I bring creativity, compassion, warmth, and a genuine desire to provide affirmation, and occasionally humor to foster a safe, affirming, and empowering environment.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Virginia. Born and raised in Iowa, I attended Iowa State University, graduating with a double major in Child, Adult, and Family Services and Spanish. I have traveled and lived in many places throughout the world, and have developed an appreciation for the differences we all have, but also the similarities that unite us. I received my master’s degree from Rutgers University. In my 18 years of work experience, I have worked supporting children, adolescents, and families. That experience includes working with trauma, depression, anxiety, school related anxiety and refusal, conflict between parents and children, involvement in the juvenile justice system, immigration stress and trauma, and crisis intervention. I have experience in child and adolescent therapy, family therapy, parenting, group therapy, and school-based mental health. I meet the child and family where they are on their journey and works collaboratively to develop realistic goals that will improve functioning in all environments. I utilize a strengths-based, solution-focused and family systems approach. I encourage children and families to share their culture and integrate the unique cultural experiences of families into treatment. I enjoy spending time outside, watching movies, reading books, and crocheting. I also enjoy various forms of exercise, like weightlifting and yoga. I enjoy watching (and sometimes playing) sports. I bring creativity and energy to my practice and am mindful and strategic about interventions used when working with children and families. Mental health is an important part of our being. Just like we eat food to feed our physical body, we must also get what we need to be mentally and emotionally resilient.

Hi, I’m glad you’re here. I’m an EMDR therapist who works with adults navigating anxiety, depression, life transitions, and trauma. Many of the people who come to see me are used to pushing through and handling things on their own, yet still feel stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected inside. You may understand logically that your past is over, but your body and emotions haven’t caught up. Therapy can be a place where that finally starts to shift. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) helps your brain process experiences that feel “frozen” in the nervous system. Instead of just talking about what happened, we help your mind and body fully digest it so memories become less intense and less intrusive. You won’t be pushed to share everything at once, and you won’t have to relive experiences before you feel ready. We focus first on building coping skills and a sense of safety so you feel grounded and in control throughout the process. I see therapy as collaborative. I won’t sit silently and leave you guessing — I’ll guide you, check in often, and adjust the pace based on what you need. My approach is warm, steady, and practical. Along with EMDR, I help you understand patterns, manage difficult emotions, and develop tools you can use in everyday life, especially during periods of change or uncertainty. People often start therapy during transitions: relationship changes, career shifts, loss, identity development, or simply realizing the ways they’ve been coping are no longer working. You don’t have to be in crisis to begin. If something in your life feels heavy, confusing, or hard to carry alone, that is reason enough. My goal is not to “fix” you. It’s to help you feel safer in your own mind and body, reduce the impact of painful experiences, and create more space for calm, connection, and choice in your life. If you’re considering therapy, I’d be honored to work with you.

Do you get extra nervous around other people—especially new people or people that you do not know very well? Do you find yourself overthinking everything you say because you are worried about saying the "wrong thing"? Or after a conversation, you replay the entire conversation in your mind and get stuck on worrying that you embarrassed yourself? Perhaps there is a social activity that you would like to do, but you avoid it due to how anxious it makes you feel? Everyone can have experiences like these sometimes, but if you find that anxiety about interacting with other people is interfering with your life, then social anxiety may be the cause. If so, then I can help: I specialize in working with people who are struggling with social anxiety. First, we'll do a thorough assessment just to make sure that social anxiety is the best explanation for what you are experiencing. If it is, you will learn to identify and challenge the thoughts and beliefs that are feeding into your anxiety, reduce the power of your thoughts and feelings, gradually confront the very situations that are making you feel so anxious, and move toward your values. By doing this, you can start to feel better. While that does not always mean that your anxiety will completely go away, it means that the anxiety will likely be much more manageable—you will be able to do more of what is important to you and actually enjoy it. To help determine whether working together would be a good fit, the next step is to schedule a free, 15-minute phone consultation—no pressure, just a conversation. You can schedule online by going to my website, send me a message (best way to reach me), or give me a call. I will get back to you very quickly, usually within 24 hours!

At A Balanced Perspective LLC, we believe healing happens through consistent, ethical, and compassionate care. We serve adolescents, teens, youth, and adults through virtual and in-person services, offering integrated behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment grounded in trauma-informed practice. As a CARF-accredited provider, our work reflects established standards of quality, safety, and accountability. We support individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use challenges, major life transitions, as well as other behavioral health concerns. Additionally, we support those who are highly capable, driven, and accustomed to putting others first. Our clinicians understand that people are shaped not only by symptoms, but by systems, families, communities, responsibilities, and lived experiences. By integrating community-based care with clinical treatment, we help clients move toward sustainable healing and improved functioning. Reaching out for support can feel daunting. Our role is to provide a steady, respectful space where change can unfold at a pace that feels manageable and supported.