I am not currently accepting new clients

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I believe being deeply understood, in the context of a safe and collaborative therapeutic relationship, is the catalyst for healing and transformation. In our work together, what often are considered symptoms are viewed as important messages about one’s lived experiences and psychological needs. We will work together to understand your distress, and the deeper meaning underlying that distress. I provide a supportive and warm environment for this exploration. The most important task for me as a therapist is to deeply listen and attend to your lived world, in order to foster understanding and change.   
 
My orientation to clinical work is grounded in psychodynamic, humanistic, existential, and phenomenological approaches to human suffering. I see our early experiences as widely influential and formative of our later adult experiences. I also take seriously how our unique identities and experiences of oppression contribute to distress and suffering. Together we will look for patterns in your life, as well as try to understand how unmet needs may be at play in your experience of distress. I especially enjoy doing this work with couples, as we try to better understand how early unmet needs may be at the root of conflict in one’s relationships.  
 
Clinical areas of interest include working with individuals who wish to examine family of origin concerns and who want to find more meaning in their lives. I also enjoy working with women’s issues across the lifespan, LGBTQIA+ individuals exploring sexual and gender identities, asexual identity, trauma, first-generation college students and the transition to college or higher education. During my clinical training, I’ve worked in community mental health centers, community clinics, and university counseling centers. I have specific training in couples therapy, and LGBTQIA+ affirmative care.

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Email: monica@friendlycitypsychology.com

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Phone: 540-208-3188

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Payment Methods: I am currently in network with Aetna, Anthem/BCBS, United Healthcare, Oscar, and Oxford. I also accept self-pay clients.

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Education: Ph.D. Clinical Psychology – Duquesne University

M.A. Clinical Psychology – St. Michael's College

 

License: Virginia License # 0810008045