Women's Issues Therapists in McLean, VA

My practice is designed to help children, adolescents, and adults with healthy development, personal confidence, and more satisfying relationships. I offer individual and group therapy to help kids with labeling and identifying feelings, developing and maintaining friendships, reading social cues, and increasing self-esteem. In working with adults, I create a supportive environment to explore a better life balance, manage stress, and improve close relationships. I value comprehensive treatment, and work with schools and other professionals to assure positive treatment outcomes.

If you have felt the impact of life transitions including anxiety, depression, stress, or relationship and self-esteem issues, therapy can be a beautiful step towards a more fulfilling life. Therapy provides an opportunity to process and explore, in a judgement free space, in order to build upon strengths and identify areas ready for growth and change. As a therapist working in Northern Virginia for nearly a decade, I have provided services to both adolescents and adults, assisting with stressors associated with mental health, family and relationship dynamics, communication struggles, life stage changes, and women's issues .

I have experience working with adolescents, teenagers, and adults in individual and group settings. I believe in tailoring treatment based upon their strengths and goals. I am dedicated to maximizing clients' strengths in order to address issues such as depression, anxiety, life transitions, women's health, body image issues, eating disorders, peer relations, and self-harm.

You delivered a baby within the past year. Motherhood hasn’t turned out the way you expected. In fact, you feel like the lows outnumber the highs and you’ve found yourself feeling guilty, embarrassed, and disappointed about your thoughts. You hoped that by waiting it out, your thoughts would change, and you would eventually feel better. So, you find yourself searching the internet to see if what you’re feeling is normal. When you think about looking into therapists, a strong sense of defeat begins to fall over you. It’s exhausting to keep up a false front.

Are you on a journey of discovering your True Self and recovering your passions, creativity, vibrancy, and playfulness? Would you like to understand yourself better and learn to treat yourself with compassion? This can be challenging, but fulfilling work. Many obstacles can limit people living out of their authentic selves -- whether it is self-judgment, wounds from past experiences, developmental traumas, or an identity that was assigned to you by others. Perhaps you have been in counseling before and would like to revisit some situations or need a space to process feelings about the world today?

Described by others as warm and insightful, I’ve been a Licensed Professional Counselor since 1999, helping people with anxiety, ADD, depression, divorce, grief, life transitions and relationships. Additionally I have experience helping adult children with aging parents and for many years worked in a faith based setting where I helped to grow their Counseling Center. As a trauma informed EMDR trained therapist, I can help you develop emotional regulation and grounding skills to help find better balance. Carving out time to meet with a counselor is an investment in yourself and can truly help to enhance your wellbeing.

Do you feel burned out and exhausted by "going through the motions" of everyday life? Are you floating through life, often overwhelmed, stressed, and feeling like there must be more out there? Have you recently been thinking more about who you are and what you want out of life, worried about the things that seem to get in the way? I work with women in their 20s and 30s discover and honor their emotions, figure out what matters, and head in that direction. We will face some of those more uncomfortable emotions and situations, together. Let's talk about what's going on so you can do what more of what matters to you.

I am deeply passionate about supporting women in all facets of their lives. Women have such wide, deep and varied lived experiences. We are wives, partners, students, mothers, entrepreneurs, nurturers, sisters and best friends. The responsibilities of our roles oftentimes leaves very little time to focus on our own emotional need. What we desire most when we are pulled in many different directions is balance and support. We know what when both balance and support are present in our lives, we create a great life not only for ourselves but we have more that we can share with our loved ones.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily routine of working and caring for our families that we lose ourselves in the process. If it’s time for you to make some changes, I’d be honored to help you figure out how to get started. I particularly love working with women in various stages of life who are experiencing challenges concerning body image, college and/or career, marriage and relationships, infertility, and parenting concerns. As a former special education teacher, I have a unique understanding of and appreciation for parents who have children with mental health or developmental challenges.

***CURRENTLY ACCEPTING CLIENTS FOR WEEKNIGHT AND WEEKENDS*** Are you struggling with juggling the demands you have for yourself as well as the demands placed on you by others? Have you tried to solve the problems in your life on your own and realized you need help from someone else? I specialize in working with individuals, in particular women, who operate in demanding positions and are often trying to carve out time for their self-care, break generational behavioral curses, or navigating work politics to reach their personal and professional goals. You do not have to carry the burden alone anymore. We can do this - together!

Areas of expertise include: Perinatal support: I am a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional (PMH-C). If you are on your fertility journey, pregnant, or postpartum, I would love to help. Ambitious women: Navigating ambitious careers or life transitions when societal demands on women remain pervasive can result in anxiety, depression, unmanageable stress and sometimes even post-traumatic stress. You are not alone. Relationships: My goal is to help you healthily develop and maintain relationships, whatever that looks like. I am person-centered and strength based.

Being a mom can leave us feeling drained, anxious, and overwhelmed. You may be burnt out from covid-parenting, feeling numb and disconnected from your new baby, or finding you're not sure who you are anymore. You might not even remember a time things didn’t feel this way. But one thing is for sure: you’re ready for some relief. You’re ready to feel balanced. You’re ready to feel confident. Whether you’re a new mom or further along on your parenting journey, you are ready to feel like yourself again.

Anxiety and OCD are my areas of expertise. While at one point your energy, thoughtfulness and persistence served you and helped you to accomplish things, perhaps you've noticed these patterns and behaviors take on a life of their own. Now you might be more fearful, doubtful, and engaging in avoidance. What used to bring you joy is now being perceived as a chore or a threat. You want peace of mind and freedom to enjoy what's right in front of you without being consumed by all the what ifs and other worst case scenarios. You recognize that the anxiety that used to serve you is now being used against you and you're tired of it.

I seek to help uncover the underlying conflicts and often unconscious roots of psychological problems. I work with you to develop insight into what underlies your anxiety or depression and to make room for growth and change. When a problem, like ADHD, requires more "hands on" help, I can help tease out what can be treated through psychotherapy, and what might need more direct intervention and even coaching. I provide parenting support and couples counseling. I also provide psychological testing, including ADHD and AAP testing for school aged children.

I use clinical approaches and mind-body coping strategies such as mindfulness, guided imagery, and breath work techniques to put tools on your tool belt to cope. In addition to being a licensed professional counselor (LPC) I am also a registered yoga and meditation teacher. My goal is to bridge the gap between mind, body, and spirit, and help make it safe to come home to yourself, to your body, and to your life. I'm not steering the course of our work; you are, and I will be there as a guide. I am grateful for each story I have been able to be apart of and am grateful for the chance to be a part of yours.

Long before the pandemic I have been delivering teletherapy to the Bay Sate after HealinGrace in Harvard Sq moved to NoVA. As a certified EMDR therapist I have developed refined ways to conduct as powerful EMDR sessions over the phone or video as in person. My clients have experienced profound transformations as we identify the root of their issues, process painful memories, develop healthy beliefs, and amplify their strengths. Chronically depressed client started seeing life "in color" and severely anxious client drove cross country. Couples on the brink of divorce renewed their covenant and a divorced couple remarried one another.

Christina Morris is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Virginia who has 15 years of experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and couples seeking help with depression, anxiety, relationship issues, work-related challenges, family dynamics, and trauma histories. Christina completed her Master of Science in Counselor Education and Human Development from Radford University and her Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Radford University.

Finding a therapist who understands your unique experience is essential. My style is welcoming, empathic, goal-focused, and interactive. With a warm and supportive approach allowing clients to speak openly, we'll identify your challenges, develop personal goals, find methods to cope with overwhelming emotions, and define practical strategies to work through obstacles. My approach is to understand and tailor my practice to what works best for you. We are on this journey together, and I'm humbled by the people I work with and the trust they have placed in me.

Life is made up of transitions, some expected and some unexpected. Responding to these transitions can often be challenging and result in unwanted feelings or symptoms. My approach to treatment is to work collaboratively with you to understand your concerns, the underlying precipitants, and build upon your strengths to develop strategies to overcome and manage these challenges. I cannot overestimate the power of really listening and providing a safe space for you to express your concerns, however awkward, uncomfortable, or upsetting. I strongly believe that everyone has the capacity to change and instilling hope is integral to that change.

We all find ourselves from time to time in need of guidance, expertise, and support from someone we trust. Engaging in treatment with a professional is at times the most efficient way of addressing what is not working. I offer individual, couples and family, consultation and/or psychotherapy with the goal of helping people get to a place in their lives where they can thrive.