Counseling in Washington, DC

• Are you uncertain about your intimate relationship?
• Do you have trouble separating from your family?
• Do you feel confused about your career path?
• Do you struggle with depression, anxieties or fears?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, we can help. David Sternberg, Kathy Richardson and Mari Clemson-Hines have more than 45 years of combined experience providing individual counseling.

We will help you explore problem areas and develop new skills that will help you make positive changes in your life. We’ve had excellent results helping people who feel “stuck” in different areas of their lives become more hopeful, energetic and decisive.

While David sees adults of all ages, he has a special interest working with young adults (20- and 30-somethings), many of whom struggle to navigate the highly transitional period between college and middle age. He helps them make sense of major decisions such as marriage, family and career. He sees heterosexual, gay and lesbian clients. Kathy sees adults of all ages, many of whom struggle with anxiety. Mari sees teens and adults, and her focus is often on healing from trauma.

David and Kathy were trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), so they look to highlight a client’s self-defeating thought patterns or irrational beliefs and connect those patterns to negative feelings and harmful behaviors. A common example of a self-defeating thought pattern is perfectionistic thinking, in which unreasonable and rigid goals leave little room for error and reinforce feelings of failure.

David and Kathy tailor their approach to suit each client’s needs. So, while they’re most comfortable using CBT, they’ll sometimes use other methods like solution-focused therapy or experiential psychotherapy when appropriate. Regardless of the therapeutic approach, their goal in counseling is always the same — to help you learn more about yourself so you can make the necessary changes to live a happier and more fulfilling life. Mari incorporates elements of CBT and solution-focused therapy.

We see a lot of clients dealing with anxiety and depression, so sometimes medication is warranted as an adjunct to psychotherapy. We work closely with several psychiatrists, nurse practitioners and primary care doctors who can prescribe the right medication for you.

We meet with therapy clients once a week in our D.C. office, occasionally twice a week if more intensive work is needed. Individual counseling sessions last 45-50 minutes. Sometimes the process of talk therapy can be difficult, particularly when discussing painful events or memories, but the results can often be tremendously rewarding, and sometimes life-changing.

To set up an appointment for individual counseling in D.C. or to find out more about how we can help, call 202.588.1288 or email us at info@dctalktherapy.com.