Therapists in Charlottesville City County, VA

If you are experiencing intense anxiety, relationship issues, depression, and/or just feeling stuck, change is possible. I believe that the relationship between client and therapist opens pathways to healing and clients can discover the truth of their own inner strength and resources. I would like to help you on your journey to explore, learn, and encourage movement towards greater self-awareness, deeper peace, and achieve more meaning and joy from relationships. To achieve these goals, I believe that a customized approach in therapy is most effective in helping people make positive changes in their lives.

Donalee holds a Bachelor of Science from George Mason University and Master’s in Clinical Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has extensive experience in educational and psychiatric settings. Donalee works collaboratively with individuals, addressing a variety of issues including trauma, anxiety, relationship problems, doubts about faith and mood disorders. She is trained in Attachment Theory, Interpersonal Neurobiology, MCBT, EAGALA equestrian therapy and SYMBIS couples’ counseling. Donalee especially enjoys working with adolescents supporting them to have strong self-esteem and make healthy choices.

Hello! I am a Resident in Counseling at Full Life PC (under the supervision of Hunter Teets, MA LPC, VA license #0701005525). I believe that all people have the capacity to change and heal when in a safe, encouraging environment. By bringing our values to the surface, we can make choices that give our lives a greater sense of purpose and peace. My style of counseling emphasizes the therapeutic relationship, and often utilizes humor, perspective-taking, and focus on connecting authentically and non-judgmentally. Sometimes being a person is hard, and we just need somewhere to talk about it!

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and have 20 years of counseling experience working with mental heath disorders, eating disorders, and couple therapy. I take an emotion focused and Jungian approach that allows for depth therapy. I also use Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills training to promote self-acceptance, non-judgment, and behavior change in the areas of interpersonal effectiveness, mindfulness, distress tolerance and emotion regulation. My therapeutic approach promotes an environment of acceptance and compassion that over time becomes an increasing internal experience.

Working with couples and men is awesome. My clients always surprise me with their intelligence and strength, even if muted by their immediate troubles. Focusing on the connection the couple does have, we can work on the skills to being our own individual within the relationship. Working with men often involves negotiating the contradictions the world presents, attending to power differentials and how they impact our inner world, discovering where our habits developed and how we want to change and grow who we are in the world. I utilize a multitude of maps to offer my clients impactful and effective interventions.

We all experience times of feeling disconnected from family, friends, or coworkers. When this human experience is prolonged or frequent it may lead to unskillfull coping and greater suffering. I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF CONNECTION WITH OTHERS AND I KNOW THIS PROCESS MUST START WITH CONNECTING TO OURSELVES. With over 15 years of experience in the field of mental health and wellness, I have supported countless people on their journey to a more full and authentic life. My clients range from teenagers to older adults who seek support with relationships, grief/loss, depression, anxiety, and life transitions.

I have explored the mind-body connection since 1980. I use healing and recovery models of therapy that respect my clients' strength and potential. I specialize in gentle and supportive methods of assisting clients to overcome the recurrent effects of trauma. I have advanced training and experience with mind/body modalities including EMDR to facilitate healing and foster posttraumatic growth. This generally involves helping a client learn to manage the recurrent symptoms of trauma and concurrently address and heal from the cause.

I am trained in EMDR for relief of trauma and both behavioral and psychodynamic/talking therapies which emphasize positive habits, good health and personal insight. Any change starts from within and sometimes we all need another perspective to grasp the whole picture so that problems or obstacles can be sensibly, sensitively and effectively handled. I work from a strengths-based orientation whereby the talents, skills, and interests can be identified. So we go from there, to where the individual learns to utilize those strengths in resolving problems, conflicts, stressors as well as finding sources of comfort, competence and confidence.

Many high-performers know they are capable of achieving more but feel stuck at times. Do you feel that despite having a lot of things together, something is missing that is holding you back? The clients I work with have typically achieved success in many aspects of life, but they struggle in others. When facing challenges that seem insurmountable, we all can benefit from expert guidance and counseling. As a clinical psychologist with over 25 years of education and experience, I empower high-achieving professionals, athletes, and couples to reach their goals and create the changes in life they most desire.

No matter who you are, life is hard. The difficulties of our day-to-day lives often put us in an irresolvable bind: On one hand, the stressors are too big and too painful to ignore. And yet, while we may wish for and even utilize the support of those around us, for a variety of reasons, we often resort to going it alone. In these moments, therapy can be a promising new option: a confidential relationship rooted in honesty, understanding, and compassion. It is my belief that such a relationship can provide a fresh start: a new orientation towards our problems and a new way of experiencing the world we live in.

I provide both in person and online couples counseling and adult, individual psychotherapy. The majority of my clients are ready to continue to grow, either as individuals or in their relationships, but are finding that old patterns might be getting in the way. My goal as a clinician is to balance emotional validation and safety with action-oriented approaches.

In response to COVID-19, we are now offering remote talk therapy sessions and supervised neurofeedback home training. The Virginia Center for Neurofeedback, Attachment & Trauma offers the gold standard in QEEG-guided neurofeedback for emotional distress, trauma, PTSD, ADD, creativity enhancement and peak performance training. Services also include psychotherapy, EMDR and LENS neurofeedback.

The nexus of emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical health is integral to healing. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Mindful Self-Compassion informed Psychotherapist, I believe in the potential that relationships offer for growth and healing. Using authentic warmth, empathy, and humor, I create a safe environment where clients feel supported to explore and heal. I honor each individual’s story, experience, and ways of coping and believe that each and every one of us has the fundamental capacity to grow and evolve.

My primary area of specialty involves psychotherapy for individuals with bipolar disorder (individual therapy, couples and/or family sessions pertaining to the disorder). In terms of broader practice areas, my work is directed towards depressive disorders, personality disorders, adjustment and transition issues (employment change, empty nesting, death of a loved one, divorce, geographic relocation, retirement, etc.), trauma/abuse/dissociative disorders, GLBT issues, as well as individuals dealing with adjustment to physical disability. I have been licensed as a psychologist and practicing for over 30 years.

As your therapist, I will guide you to recognize learned patterns of thinking, acting and feeling that may be creating suffering in your life. Together we will explore where and why you learned those patterns. Once fully understood, you will find the courage to transform those learned patterns into healthier ones. I will then guide you to practice these new and healthier patterns in the therapy room as well as in your life outside the therapy room. Once you transform old patterns of relating into healthier ones, you will feel lighter, more confident and happier.

Through a holistic and integrative approach I support individuals and families to navigate the unique challenges that life has unfolded for them. Whether our work takes place in my office or out in nature, I help my clients identify, cultivate and nourish their strengths and resources. Through our work my clients deepen their connection to themselves, others and the natural world. As these connections grow I support my clients to uncover limiting patterns that inhibit their relationships, creativity and happiness so they can nourish new ways of moving and relating in the world that support authenticity, ease, and joy.

As a seasoned clinician with over 20 years experience in private practice, university mental health and inpatient settings, I find the work deeply rewarding. Good therapy helps people to develop a stronger sense of identity and self worth, a safe setting to explore self defeating behaviors and newer coping tools, a place to deepen relationships and achieve greater satisfaction in one's personal and professional lifen. I am more interested in the unique person in the room than a particular theoretical orientation. I draw from insight oriented, psychodynamic, relational frames, and incorporate CBT, DBT, mindfulness and yoga therapy techniques.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who specializes in adolescents (ages 16+) and adults who struggle with depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and difficulty coping with medical problems. As a therapist, I believe that everyone is capable of change and healing, regardless of your circumstances. I utilize a strengths-based and systems approach, with an emphasis on cognitive-behavioral and solutions-focused interventions.

I work with adults and adolescents who are experiencing challenges related to depression, anxiety, stress, transitions, and relationships. I also have experience working with expectant and new mothers struggling with depression and anxiety, and I have a special interest in supporting this population.

THIS IS TELEHEALTH ONLY. One of the best decisions you can make in your life is to reach out and ask for help. Therapy is about change and trying to figure out the old patterns that are not working anymore. As a parent of school-aged children and working in the mental health field, I recognize that people have been struggling. If you were struggling pre-pandemic I realize that COVID may have exasperated your feelings, your mood, and may have increased anxiety. I would like to be able to help you manage your struggles and develop a new way of life going forward.