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 offers a calm, respectful presence for people facing stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and relationship or parenting concerns. Her approach is conversational and focused on everyday thoughts and habits that shape feeling and behavior.

Her work blends client-centered listening with cognitive behavioral strategies and mindfulness. She helps people notice unhelpful thinking patterns and try new habits that reduce worry and improve sleep. She also uses techniques aimed at processing trauma when that is part of the problem.

Donna has experience with addictions, process-related concerns such as gambling or problematic sexual behavior, and issues connected to domestic violence and guilt. She has also supported people dealing with first responder and veteran-related challenges and health-related concerns like HIV and seasonal mood changes.

Sessions focus on practical steps the client can try between meetings. Conversations include skill practice, problem solving, and planning small changes that fit daily life. Donna aims to tailor the pace and tools to each person’s needs and goals.

Her counseling style is warm and interactive, with an emphasis on respect and sensitivity. She encourages people to take gradual steps toward clearer thinking and steadier routines, and she supports those ready to make changes.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online work

Client-centered therapy emphasizes listening, empathy, and shaping sessions around what matters most to the client. In practice this means the therapist follows the client’s concerns and helps them clarify goals and priorities.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors. It is often used for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and ADHD-related routines by breaking issues into concrete steps and homework tasks.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers practical skills for regulating emotions, tolerating distress, and improving communication. Those skills can be helpful for intense emotions, relationship patterns, and impulse-related difficulties.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to choose and adapt methods based on their goals, day-to-day life, and what feels most useful. That might mean combining listening and skill practice or shifting focus over time.

For practical matters, confirm the available session formats before booking since the biography does not list specific options. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time so sessions are more convenient. Licensed professionals can tailor session length and homework to fit a client’s routine and responsibilities.