About Donna
Donna Coakley, MD, LCPC, LPC, offers a compassionate, practical approach to therapy. She focuses on helping people handle stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD concerns, and relationship and parenting strains. Her style is warm and interactive and she works to avoid stigmatizing labels.
With 26 years of experience, she brings long-standing clinical work in the District of Columbia region. Her background includes many kinds of issues from mood concerns to trauma and addiction.
Background and approach
She has also worked extensively with military-connected people and the specific pressures they face. Donna combines client-centered listening with evidence-informed strategies. She uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help people change unhelpful thinking and behavior.
Dialectical behavior strategies are used to build coping skills for intense emotions and better interpersonal effectiveness. For people processing traumatic events, she incorporates EMDR-informed methods alongside mindfulness practices to reduce distress and increase present-moment control. Sessions focus on concrete skills, step-by-step problem solving, and building small routines that make daily life easier.
Her approach is collaborative: she and the client agree on goals and check progress along the way. She explains options plainly and tailors the plan to what each person says works best. Donna aims to help people feel more in control, sleep better, and manage day-to-day demands with less overwhelm.
How therapy approaches translate to online care
Client-centered therapy starts with listening. The therapist follows the client’s lead, reflects concerns, and helps set goals based on what matters most to the person seeking help. This approach supports people who want a respectful, nonjudgmental space to talk about stress, relationships, or life transitions.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors. Online sessions use straightforward exercises and homework that people can practice between meetings to reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and manage ADHD-related routines.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches specific skills for handling intense emotions and improving communication. In remote sessions, clients learn practical tools like distress tolerance and emotion regulation that they can apply during a tough moment at work or at home.
Choosing the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will discuss options, try techniques, and adjust the plan so it fits each person’s goals and daily life. That collaborative process helps identify which strategies feel most useful and sustainable.
Online formats offer flexibility for busy schedules. Video calls let people have a face-to-face conversation when more nuance is helpful. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be easier during a hectic day. Live chat or text-based messaging work well for brief check-ins, homework feedback, or steady support between longer sessions. These options make it simpler to keep therapy consistent and to practice new skills in real time.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Communication problems
- Depression
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 26 years
- Licensed
- District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia
- Languages
- English
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