Experiential Therapy in Washington, DC

Most people who come to see me express a deep longing to be fully met and valued as a unique person. They also wish to find their aliveness! My passion is to create a space for a complete integration of mind, body, emotions, intention, and spirituality. I work with your deepest issues, while also encouraging you to cultivate your innate strengths and a sense of personal greatness! Holistic psychotherapy also integrates the body - when appropriate! I use Core Energetics and other body psychotherapy modalities and integrate the latest neuroscience to help you find increased self-confidence, self-awareness, balance, meaning, pleas joy.

I have been providing individual, couples, and group psychotherapy for over 25 years. Typically, people enter therapy because they are having problems in their relationships. Successful psychotherapy must focus on helping develop more fulfilling and substantial interpersonal connections. Facilitating a client’s capacity to lead a richer and more emotionally balanced life is the objective. The therapeutic relationship is the road traveled, and enables the client to understand the choices they have made, the associated positive and negative consequences, and the freedom to make new, more effective and satisfying life decisions.

My goal is to create a space where you feel comfortable to share and know you will be heard during our time together. In tandem, we prioritize your goals and explore the best ways to help you achieve them. I am a general practitioner with a wealth of experience working with clients of all backgrounds who have diverse needs.

Are you looking for relief from stress, worry, insomnia, or low mood? Has your partnership lost its sparkle? Does your body feel on edge and exhausted? Life doesn’t have to be so hard. Let’s work together and achieve the goals that have been just out of reach. E-mail me today and let's schedule a free consult. During that consult, we will discuss your strengths and the barriers that have held you back. Together, we will develop a customized program to meet your exact needs. All of our programs include top-tier, evidence-based interventions, like EMDR, Gottman Couple Method, Cognitive Processing, and more. Call to schedule!

I am a psychotherapist located in Washington, DC offering individual, group, and couples therapy. I enjoy helping people live authentically and thrive in all areas of their lives. I pull from a variety of therapeutic approaches and techniques, but collaborate with each individual to create a space that best suits one’s unique set of needs and goals. My therapeutic style is warm, compassionate, and appropriately challenging. I am also a 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher, and incorporate mindfulness and body-based approaches in therapy where its appropriate.

Dr. Lamar is a psychologist and a licensed professional counselor who has been providing therapy to individuals, families and groups for over 18 years. She earned a Psy.D. and Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University's Illinois School of Professional Psychology.

I view therapy as an opportunity for every person to have a confidential, supportive, and guided experience towards personal growth and facing life’s unending challenges. My style of therapy is very much like my personality: down to earth, humble, funny, compassionate, slightly sarcastic, direct, and blunt in a loving way. I have a sense of humor about myself, and I encourage my clients to adopt the same attitude. Each client who walks into my office comes with a unique history of experiences. To personalize treatment I use a combination of evidence-based therapeutic techniques to best support, explore, interpret, and solve.

Are you seeking deeper attachment? I collaborate with couples and individuals to increase your inner awareness of self to share with others. I help clients process life-changing events including job growth and relocation, loss and grief, chronic health diagnoses, and adoption. I offer support for couples who want to strengthen their relationships and resolve issues preventing emotional and sexual intimacy. Where appropriate, I offer intensive therapy to bring clarity and begin the healing process of life experiences. I'm licensed in DC/MD/VA. My diverse background includes working in Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Main Street.

We see individuals, families and couples in DC, MD, VA, PA, and FL. We provide an encouraging, warm and open environment to help learn more about yourself and heal from the root up. We identify when negative patterns began and guide you to lead a happier and more peaceful life.

In my practice I am guided by the belief that change is possible and that every person has the capacity for healthy growth and development but may at times need help in accessing inner resources for positive change. I believe a therapist-client relationship that is characterized by empathy, curiosity, acceptance and caring is what facilitates the therapeutic process. I aim to provide an environment where my clients feel safe and free to explore their feelings, thoughts, needs and goals - an environment where we can work together at understanding what is keeping them from living a more fulfilling life.

There is nothing like being listened to and understood on a deep level, with genuine interest and acceptance. This is what I strive to offer in therapy or analysis, as we explore together your hopes and dreams, your losses and regrets, your longings and fears. Many people come to therapy to free themselves from self-defeating patterns and the legacy of past traumas, so they can be more truly themselves in relation to others and live with greater satisfaction and meaning. My analytic training enables me to work intensively, and I enjoy incorporating experiential techniques like journaling, psychodrama, and art.

I believe the most important thing about therapy is empowering you so that you can make conscious choices about your life. My style is active and involved. Working collaboratively, I can help you define your goals and see what is causing your pain, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and problems in relationships. As a child, you learned ways of coping with your environment that were safe for you at the time. Those coping behaviors became habitual but, as an adult, no longer work for you and interfere with your happiness and your ability to function at your highest level.

I believe you’re stronger and wiser than your current struggles might lead you to believe. It’s just that sometimes our core strength gets covered up by the stress of life and the difficulties we’ve faced. With me, therapy is about helping your best self emerge, which often takes a big dose of compassion and a much-needed break. I work with clients on a variety of issues, including anxiety and depression, relationships and sex, career changes, grief, trauma, and growing up in dysfunctional families. I'm also passionate about supporting LGBTQ, trans, and gender expansive clients.

Hello! Thank you for visiting my page and for considering me for your mental health needs. I am a licensed clinical psychologist in DC and Virginia. Antiracist and identity-affirming practice is very important to me. I help clients navigate mood-related concerns (e.g., anxiety and depression), relationship issues, identity conflicts, and family of origin issues, among others. Seeking out mental health services requires courage and a desire to change. I try to honor this courage by working hard to be present, warm, and responsive every time we meet. Accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP) informs my work.

You've spent much of your life doing the things that you "should," so you wonder, "why don't I feel happier?" People may see you as "put together" and accomplished from the outside, but inside, you feel numb, chaotic, anxious, or even broken. I help people who've been through traumatic experiences feel in charge of their lives again without being held back by painful memories from the past. If you feel angry, stressed, depressed, guilty, or self-loathing, I want you to know that there is a way through this to a meaningful and happy life.

I help adults navigate the challenging experience of coping with grief. Loss is often highly distressing and there is not a duration of time that grieving should take. However, we sometimes feel stuck in our grief or desire support. Because grief is a natural response to loss, the goal of our work together is not to "cure" your grief, but to help you find ways to adjust to your loss and cope with the stressors that accompany it. I also work with clients experiencing relationship and family-of-origin concerns and with individuals who would like to live more authentically and develop greater self-compassion and healthier boundaries.

I enjoy working with individuals and couples who are curious and hungry for more connection to themselves and others in their lives. When you start therapy, I will talk with you about what brings you to therapy, the life you want to create and what you think holds you back. I will reflect with you on how it feels to be with and collaborate with you on your own thriving. You are likely to display the same intra- and inter-personal patterns with me that enhance or impede your progress in your relationships at work and home. Most of my clients start therapy because of depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties and work challenges.

For over 35 years, I have helped clients understand and work through a wide variety of life challenges. I provide a safe place and an experienced ear to explore such issues as anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, health problems, self-esteem challenges and career struggles. I also work with many clients on relationship issues, be they couples, marital, family, work or social in nature. My style is warm, sensitive, active, and insightful. I help my clients understand and find solutions to their struggles, while helping them create more healthy, balanced and satisfying lives.

I think of therapy as a way of freeing ourselves from the obstacles which prevent us from moving forward in our lives. Frequently these obstacles present themselves to us in the challenges of the outer world--in problems at work, in difficult relationships, in adapting to life changes, or in the sudden impact of a traumatic event. And sometimes what stands in the way of our freedom and happiness lies within us, as negative thought patterns, conflicting or confusing emotions, and unexpressed feelings--all of which can result in depression, anxiety, chronic illness, low self esteem--burdens we often carry alone.