Donna Coakley, MD, LCPC, LPC
Licensed in District of Columbia · 26 years in practice
Donna Coakley is a licensed counselor who brings 26 years of experience to sessions in the District of Columbia.
License and registration
- LPC, District of Columbia
- PRC1370 · expires October 2026
- LCPC, Maryland
- LC0875 · expires January 2028
- LPC, Virginia
- 0701011757 · expires June 2026
- NPI
- 1780822148 · national provider identifier
- Years in practice
- 26
- Languages
- English
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check any license with the state board and any NPI with the national registry.
About Donna
Donna Coakley is a licensed counselor who brings 26 years of experience to sessions in the District of Columbia. She combines practical talk therapy with hands-on strategies people can use between meetings. Her work focuses on stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, depression, ADHD, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, sleep problems, and parenting concerns.
Donna uses straightforward methods drawn from client-centered practice and cognitive behavior approaches. She helps people notice patterns in thoughts and behavior, then test small, doable changes.
Background and approach
Mindfulness techniques and emotion regulation skills are woven into sessions when they fit someone s goals. For people coping with trauma, Donna incorporates tools to reduce distress and process difficult memories. She also brings experience with addiction, process behaviors like compulsive gambling or pornography, and problems tied to substance use.
Conversation about forgiveness, guilt, shame, and rebuilding trust are part of this work when appropriate. Her background includes long-term work with military service members and related issues, plus work with concerns such as domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, hoarding, and seasonal mood shifts. Donna aims to tailor each plan to the person in front of her rather than use one standard approach.
Sessions are offered in English and are available to international clients. She connects by video, phone, live chat, or text messaging depending on what fits a person's schedule and needs.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Donna lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Depression
- ADHD
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Communication problems
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Jealousy
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
Approaches Donna names
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.
Online support
Approaches that translate well to online sessions
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely and shaping sessions around what matters most to the person. In practice this means the therapist reflects what is said, asks clarifying questions, and helps people set goals they actually want to reach.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going. Online CBT sessions often include specific exercises and small behavioral experiments to try between meetings to reduce anxiety, depression, and unhelpful patterns.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, teaches practical skills for managing intense emotions and improving relationships. Skills training, mindfulness practice, and problem-solving can all be adapted to video, phone, or messaging formats.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that fit their goals, preferences, and life situation. That plan can change over time as needs shift.
Online therapy offers flexibility for different schedules and rhythms. Video calls allow face-to-face dialogue and demonstrations, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be useful for short check-ins, and text messaging supports ongoing coaching-style contact. These options make it easier to keep momentum between sessions and to fit therapy into a busy life.
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Questions people ask
What concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, ADHD, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, sleeping problems, and parenting challenges.
What is her therapeutic style?
Her style is warm and interactive, combining client-centered conversation with cognitive behavioral techniques and mindfulness exercises.
How long has she practiced?
Donna has 26 years of professional experience working with a wide range of concerns and populations.
What are her credentials and location?
She holds MD, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) credentials and practices in the District of Columbia.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English and Donna does accept international clients.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be scheduled as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.
How does cost and billing work?
Cost varies with location and therapist arrangements; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
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