What's on your mind?

You don't have to know — that's what the first few sessions are for. Most people come in with a general sense of what's bothering them, and their therapist helps them figure out what's driving it and which therapy approach will help most. If you're dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, or life transitions, different types of therapy and different therapists may be a better fit. Our matching tool can help you find the right therapist before your first session.

The most common mental health professionals include licensed psychologists (doctoral-level training in therapy and psychological testing), licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical social workers, and licensed marriage and family therapists. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe medication but don't always provide talk therapy. At TGDC, our therapists are doctoral-level psychologists trained across multiple therapeutic approaches.

That's incredibly common. Anxiety and depression often show up together. Relationship issues and individual struggles overlap. Trauma affects everything. Many therapists are trained across multiple specialties and therapy methods, so you don't need to fit neatly into one category. A good therapist treats the whole person, not a single diagnosis.

The most common therapeutic approaches include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which targets negative thought patterns and practical strategies for change; psychodynamic therapy, which explores how past experiences shape present behavior; dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which builds emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills; and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a trauma-focused therapy method. Humanistic therapy and emotion focused therapy are also widely used. Most therapists draw from multiple approaches depending on what you need.

We're a practice of deeply trained therapists — not a referral network or directory. Our clinicians come from doctoral programs at universities like Maryland, GW, Howard, and American. As a clinical training site for eight university programs, we maintain the highest standards of evidence-based treatment. And we're based in Dupont Circle, embedded in the DC community we serve.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most researched treatment for anxiety disorders, helping you identify and change negative thought patterns that fuel worry. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) can also help, especially if your anxiety comes with intense emotions or difficulty with emotional regulation. Psychodynamic therapy is also highly effective for anxiety — it helps you understand the underlying patterns and relational dynamics that keep anxiety in place, which can lead to deeper, more lasting change. Many therapists use elements of multiple approaches depending on what you need. Your therapist will help you figure out what fits.

The therapeutic alliance — the relationship between you and your therapist — is one of the strongest predictors of good outcomes, regardless of which type of therapy you're doing. Start with what matters most: specific expertise, a particular style, or practical factors like schedule and format. Our matching system asks about your preferences and what you're working through, then shows you therapists who specialize in those areas instantly.

The first session is mostly about your therapist getting to know you — what brought you in, what you're hoping to get out of therapy, and enough context to start forming a plan. Think of it as a conversation, not a test. Your mental health professional will ask about your history, current concerns, and goals. Many people feel relieved just having someone listen without judgment.

Yes. We offer both in-person therapy at our Dupont Circle office and telehealth throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Research consistently shows online therapy can be just as effective as in-person sessions when there's a strong therapeutic alliance. Both individual therapy and couples therapy are available in either format.

Individual therapy sessions range from $230 to $300, and couples therapy is $275 to $310. We're an out-of-network practice — most PPO plans reimburse 50–80% of session costs when you submit a superbill. If cost is a concern, many therapists in private practices offer sliding scales, and we're happy to help you understand your options.