Donna Coakley, LCPC, LPC

Donna Coakley is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor with 26 years of experience. She practices in the District of Columbia and brings a warm, interactive manner to sessions. Donna aims to treat people with respect, sensitivity, and compassion while avoiding stigmatizing labels.

Her work focuses on concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, addictions, relationship and intimacy-related issues, sleep difficulties, and parenting strain. She has a broad additional focus that includes trauma and abuse, communication problems, domestic violence, process addictions, and issues affecting veterans and first responders. Donna also addresses topics like guilt, shame, hoarding, and seasonal mood changes.

Donna combines client-centered methods with cognitive behavioral techniques and mindfulness practices. She uses practical conversation to set goals and build skills that fit each person's life. Sessions emphasize collaboration and clear steps you can try between meetings.

With extensive experience across settings, Donna draws on approaches that help when past events continue to cause distress and when behavior patterns need adjusting. She helps people work through painful memories, reduce symptoms, and improve day-to-day coping. Donna tailors the pace and plan to each person’s needs and goals.

Her style is direct but kind, aiming to empower people to make changes they want. Prospective clients are invited to begin by completing the intake steps to see if her approach feels like the right fit.

How these approaches translate to online work

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening, empathy, and grounding the conversation in what matters to the client. It helps people feel heard and clarifies goals they want to work toward. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at patterns of thought and behavior and teaches practical tools to shift unhelpful reactions and reduce symptoms like anxiety and depression. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and better interpersonal skills to manage intense feelings and relationship stress.

Choosing an approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will help figure out which methods fit your concerns, goals, and preferences. Expect discussion about what feels useful, some trial of techniques, and adjustments over time so the plan stays aligned with your needs.

Specific session formats are not listed here, so please confirm available options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life - for example, it can remove commute time, allow a shorter check-in during a break, or avoid needing to be on camera if that feels better. Licensed professionals can adapt these approaches to work well over distance, using conversation, skill practice, and guided exercises tailored to everyday routines.