My style is gentle yet firm, supportive yet challenging, as I endeavor to create an environment where clients feel safe to express their true selves in therapy.

I strive to create an inviting and open environment where clients feel safe, supported, and empowered to explore their thoughts and emotions without judgment. Working with me feels compassionate and collaborative; I meet clients where they are, offering empathy, understanding, and practical tools for healing. My approach fosters trust and encourages clients to feel heard, validated, and confident as they work toward their personal goals and growth.

If there is one thing I hope you take away from an encounter with me, it is this: you are precious and valuable. That belief is at the heart of what I call Treasure Therapy. I believe every person has inherent dignity and worth, even when life, relationships, failure, shame, conflict, or loss have made it difficult to feel that way. My passion is engaging people in deeper therapeutic encounters that lead toward hope, meaning, connection, growth, and healing. I am especially passionate about helping people understand the deeper patterns shaping their lives and relationships. Rather than focusing only on symptoms or surface-level solutions, I work from a whole-person perspective that considers your emotions, relationships, history, body, beliefs, values, sexuality, spirituality, and the systems you are part of. Couples therapy is one of my primary specialties, and it has been for more than 15 years. With a PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy, I am trained to understand not only each partner individually, but also the relational system they create together: the patterns of attachment, conflict, intimacy, communication, and protection that can keep even loving couples stuck. My role is not to decide who is right or wrong. It is to understand the relationship itself, help each partner feel heard, identify the cycle underneath the conflict, and help you create a healthier, more connected way of relating. I work with couples dealing with recurring conflict, emotional disconnection, communication difficulties, trust injuries, sexual and intimacy concerns, differences in desire, parenting stress, life transitions, attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) and neurodivergence within relationships, and questions about whether or how the relationship can move forward. I also enjoy working with couples who are not in crisis, but want greater closeness, emotional safety, intimacy, and depth. I also work with individuals around relationships, ADHD and neurodivergence, self-worth, anxiety, depression, sexuality, intimacy, identity, spiritual questions, life transitions, and the challenge of integrating the different parts of ourselves into a more satisfying life. I have been counseling individuals, couples, families, and groups since 2007. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in Maryland, Washington, DC, and California, and I am approved by Maryland to provide clinical supervision to therapists in training. My approach is evidence-based, but I also believe therapy should feel human. You should not feel like a diagnosis, a checklist, or a problem to be fixed. Good therapy should involve curiosity, honesty, compassion, challenge, and real engagement. I want to understand not only what is happening in your life, but also what it means to you, and what kind of life and relationships you want to create. Because I am also a former pastor, I can integrate faith and spirituality into therapy for clients who want that. For some people, faith is a central source of meaning, hope, identity, and strength. For others, religion may be complicated, painful, or not important at all. You do not need to share my beliefs, or hold any religious beliefs, to feel welcome here. I work with people of many faiths, backgrounds, identities, cultures, relationship experiences, and life choices. My goal is not to impose my worldview on you, but to understand yours and help you live more fully in alignment with what matters to you. Outside the therapy room, I have been married for nearly two decades, and I am the father of two boys. I understand personally that relationships do not happen in a laboratory. Marriage, parenting, work, stress, health, sex, money, faith, family history, and ordinary exhaustion all interact in real life. If you are looking for a therapist who will go deeper than surface-level advice, who understands the complexity of relationships, and who will engage you with warmth, honesty, and respect, I would be glad to work with you. Whether you are trying to repair a relationship, deepen one that is already good, rediscover intimacy, understand yourself better, heal from something painful, or simply become more fully who you are, I believe there are treasures within you worth discovering.

My philosophy and approach to helping clients is to do a thorough assessment and develop a treatment plan that is characteristic of that client and guide clients through therapy to healing. Each client has a uniqueness about them and my work is finding it and helping that client realize it and live in it. Perception is the key to understanding. Awareness is the key to realization.

I believe that the innate nature of human beings is to survive and be well, and that varying degrees of life experience and trauma create psychic structures that inhibit that natural process from occurring. My job is to help client's develop compassionate awareness for these structures that are no longer functional in their lives and help them to build tolerance for the underlying feelings being protected by these structures. And ultimately to help client's choose and develop healthier more functional thoughts, feelings and behaviors to expand their well being, life satisfaction and treat themselves with loving kindness.

Many people come to therapy because they are tired of surviving. They may be struggling with the effects of trauma, grief and loss, relationship challenges, anxiety, depression, or life transitions that have left them feeling disconnected from themselves and others. I believe our struggles make more sense when they are understood within the context of our life experiences, relationships, and the environments that shaped us. The ways we learn to trust, protect ourselves, connect with others, and understand our worth are often influenced by experiences that occurred long before we recognized their impact. My approach is trauma-informed, attachment-based, and culturally responsive. I work with individuals, couples, and families to explore patterns that may no longer serve them, heal unresolved wounds, strengthen relationships, and build a greater sense of clarity, connection, and purpose. I integrate EMDR and other evidence-based approaches to help clients process difficult experiences while developing new ways of relating to themselves and others. Therapy is not about fixing what is broken. It is about understanding your story, recognizing your strengths, and creating space for healing, growth, and meaningful change.

Ann “Lisa” Peralta is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Virginia with over 34 years of experience providing clinical assessment and therapeutic care to adults seeking help with a variety of issues. These issues include substance use challenges, stress, depression, and anxiety, to name a few.

My work combines my personal knowledge and experiences of the special challenges and gifts that define the creative experience with insight work and mindfulness-based psychotherapy. I've worked with writers, musicians, dancers, painters, computer programmers, tattoo artists, and more, to help them work through creative issues, relationship problems, anxiety, and many other concerns. In my experience, people who have spent their lives developing their creativity have a unique skillset which is often overlooked as a place from which to draw strength and guidance in building relationships, coping with stress, and making life decisions. I tend to focus on strengths: you might be surprised at what you already know. You can read more about my work with creative people at my external site, linked at left.

Paula O’Leary is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Virginia who has worked in the mental health field for 15 years in a variety of settings, including outpatient, school, community-based, residential, hospital, and correctional settings.

Are you stuck in a painful relationship? Are you suffering from anxiety? Or do you feel your life isn't going the way you want it to? With cognitive behavorial therapy you can learn to have more meaningful relationships, manage anxiety and enjoy a more fullfillng life. I use a psychoeducational format in which I teach you skills to become your own best emotional coach. I will help you learn to understand and feel better about yourself, better about your life. With this self-awareness and skills developed in therapy you will be able to implement healthier behaviors and realize more positive ways of living.

I am a Resident in Counseling with over 2 years of experience, and I specialize in working with caregivers, as well as individuals managing anxiety, depression, parenting challenges, relationship concerns, and life adjustments. My goal is to create a supportive, safe space where clients feel heard and understood. I am passionate about guiding people through life’s challenges and helping them develop tools that foster growth, resilience, and lasting positive change.

Dr. Morgan treats individuals, couples, families, and children. Dr. Morgan currently provides clinical supervision to Marriage and Family Counselors. He enjoys working with clients who have a broad spectrum of relationship problems. He believes that meaningful change comes from deep within; it is not something that can be imposed by the therapist, nor are you expected to do it alone.