unburden and reclaim
Helping individuals and couples move through trauma and relationship challenges with clarity and compassion in Burke, Virginia
you can now Stop pretending everything is okay…
You want to feel calmer, more focused, less distressed, more in control of that relationship…
but instead you feel…
Exhausted from trying to cope. This is not the life you want.
Depleted from showing up for everyone except you.
Sad, frustrated, terrified...can this relationship survive this?
Paralyzed by anxiety, overwhelm, and faking it. You can’t keep this up.
Sleepless, unhappy, anxious…it’s just too much.
Oh You have tried the breathing exercises…
✓The meditation apps
✓The positive affirmations
✓ The hot baths with essential oils
✓Yoga, journaling…even talk therapy
You may have read the books, tuned into the podcasts, spent hours doom scrolling…researching.
You understand your trauma intellectually and maybe you even know why you react the way you do…
Yet your body is still living in survival mode and it’s exhausting.
But you know what no one told you?
You can't think your way out of a nervous system response and you can’t breathe your trauma away.
There’s another way and it’s more powerful than you can imagine.
Hey - I’m Dawn and I am so glad you are here.
You may be here because you want to feel better, and you don't want to waste any more time figuring out how.
I get it.
I help my clients overcome anxiety, trauma, PTSD and relationship/couples’ issues using ART and IFS, and practical strategies that focus on unburdening (ditching those shackles, old trauma and maladaptive coping) and reclaiming (getting relief, strength and owning your space).
Let’s just call it; therapy can be really freaking hard…and yet so is living in a way that doesn’t serve you or your relationship.
Come as you are…your story matters. Your pain matters. Your relationship matters. I’m not here to analyze you, I’m here to equip you.
YOU’RE LIVING LIFE IN SURVIVAL MODE, AND IT’S exhausting.
I hear you. This may be your first or 50th time in therapy.
Maybe it hasn’t worked and maybe it’s taking you a while to give this another go.
The hypervigilance, the shutdown, the chronic anxiety, the people-pleasing—these aren't character flaws. They're protective strategies you have developed to keep you going.
And they worked. You're here.
But survival strategies that once protected you, can become prisons.
If you want to understand what happened and what to do, all you have to do is show up.
I’ll meet you there.
My areas of focus
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Your younger self had it all planned; but now?
You pour yourself into your family, your job, and everyone who needs you and sometimes it just feels heavy. You aren’t even sure you know what it is.
You’ve learned to keep things together.
To manage, deal, hold on tightly…
But underneath this façade you’ve carefully built, there’s more going on than you know how to face alone.
It shows up in every part of your life—at work, in your relationships, in the way you speak to yourself—but the issues you’re dealing with seem like such a tangled mess that you’re not sure where to even start. Maybe you have tried therapy before and have been putting off trying again, because the idea of being told to “just breathe and count to 10” has the opposite of a calming effect.
Maybe beneath the surface, there’s a heaviness that you’ve gotten used to.
The roles you play in relationships, the messages you absorbed, the ways you learned to protect yourself—they didn’t come from nowhere. My role is to help you see those patterns in real time, so you can start making different choices; healthy choices, ones you actually want - instead of repeating the same cycles you’ve already exhausted.
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This isn’t about what is wrong with you - it’s about what happened to you.
You have powerful survival strategies that have worked really hard at getting you here. They are brilliant and yet…what used to work is now, well - maladaptive.
You might not think your past matters—you can’t change it, so why bother revisiting it? Or it’s too painful to explore - it’s actually too painful not to.
The truth is, it’s showing up in your relationships, your decisions, and the way you see yourself.
We’ll look at where these patterns started so you can start healing, recalibrating and reclaiming your life.
On your terms.
If you are feeling that maybe it’s time to find your footing again and I’m here to help you do just that.
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Couples therapy isn’t just for crisis. It’s for the how did we get here and the what do we do now—it’s for the ones navigating kids, sex and intimacy, or trust that’s been broken, betrayed or lost.
It’s for the partners who want a strong foundation, and the ones who simply want more play, more communication, or more joy. The ones ready to stop letting the past determine what lies ahead, and the ones barely hanging on - or ready to let go.
It’s about communicating in a way that you both actually hear each other - and hold that space.
It’s for you both.
And the quiet hope inside that things could feel different.
Relationships shape the way you see yourself and the world, and sometimes, without realizing it, you carry old wounds into new connections. In therapy, we’ll take a close look at the patterns that keep showing up in your relationships—whether it’s pushing people away, struggling with trust, or feeling like you’re always bracing for impact.
We’ll explore where this comes from, especially the relationships that shaped you early on, and start untangling what’s helping you and what’s holding you both back.
All couples of all identities and lifestyles warmly welcomed
find each other again
Hey…
It was never about the laundry.
It was about: How could you do this?
It was about: We're supposed to be partners.
It was about: Do you even care about me?
It was about: We don’t even know each other anymore.
It was about: I’m scared. I’m mad. I’m confused. I don’t know what to do.
If you only talk about the laundry, nothing gets resolved.
If you want to strengthen your relationship, build connection, understand what happened and what to do…
I’ve got a place for you right here.
Couples’ Therapy opens up a portal…
Here you have space, a voice, and time to:
Feel safe and supported in the untangling of it all.
Learn how to show up for each other. Like REALLY show up, even when it’s hard.
Recognize the parts, patterns, the limiting beliefs, and those tired strategies that no longer serve.
Craft a relationship where you redefine sex and intimacy.
Free yourselves from social media garbage of what couples should be like…and co-create what you both want and need.
Design a peaceful transition in the uncoupling experience while being supported through discernment, separation, and/or co-parenting. (For couples ending a relationship)
This is a safe, non partisan place where every individual and couple, of all lifestyles, ENM/Poly/LGBTQIA+ relationships and identities are supported, valued, and welcomed.
A few thoughts about betrayal and pain…
Betrayal and fractures are among the hardest things a relationship can endure.
So much is at stake…
There are many truths to be felt at once and it requires engagement, honesty, and space to bring out the hardest reaches of your relationship.
It hurts like hell. You want it to stop.
Decisions about how to move forward are made with understanding, honesty, and support. We do things collaboratively and co-navigate in ways that don’t compromise each other.
If the pain, confusion and fear is on a loop there is another way.
If you are willing to show up and try, I’ll meet you there.
Let’s get this started
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Internal Family Systems
IFS is a gentle, effective approach based on the idea that we all have different parts within us that show up at various times -we have our anxious part, our people pleasing part, our angry part, the driven part, the protector part. These parts - even the ones we may want to change up aren’t flawed. They are brilliant survival strategies that got us here - but maybe need to stand down for a while. IFS helps us understand them, heal the wounds that brought them here and learn some new ways to safely navigate our relationships, our past and ourselves.
This approach works perfectly for individuals and couples wanting deeper connection, healing and understanding.
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Accelerated Resolution Therapy
A.R.T. is a profound, non-invasive approach to break free from trauma, stress, anxiety and fear. This works directly to reprogram the way in which distressing memories and images are stored in the brain so they no longer trigger strong physical and emotional reactions. This approach can help quickly clear the emotional blocks without having to relive and retell the painful details.
Relief can often by felt in as little as one to five sessions and is perfect for young teens to adults.
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Trauma and Healing
What if you don’t know what you are looking for? What if you just want to talk this out and get to resolution? What if all of this is just overwhelming and you just want a place to land - to unpack, unravel and figure this out.
I see you.
My philosophy is there is no perfect approach or modality - what works is only what works for you.
So we meet, talk, lay it out and decide on a path.
You just need to show up - I’ll meet you there.
About me: Before becoming a therapist, I spent two decades working in policy as a reporter and social worker, with huge gaps to raise a family of six. Serving on military bases overseas and exploring the immense impact of wellness in every facet and family is what brought me into private practice in Northern Virginia.
My roles had deep meaning and yet I wanted more; less transitional relationships and more presence, growth, and connection.
I wanted to be in the healing space - away from protocol and newsrooms and onto the couch with those in trusting me.
It’s sacred, impactful, and profound.
Through my personal therapy work, I found language and perspectives that brought healing and purpose to my life beyond what my younger self could have ever dreamed.
I know the childhood trauma, the broken relationships, the questioning of worth, and the messy bravery that comes when you decide to show up for yourself.
It’s time.
See you soon - dawn
street cred…
Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Practice Owner
University 0f Maryland (MSW)
Certified Gender-Affirming Specialist
Certified Trauma Specialist
Certified Accelerated Resolution Therapy Practitioner
Certified Couples Therapist
IFS, EFT, Somatic trained
Adolescent/Teen Specialist
Military Family Advocacy and EFMP (United Kingdom)
Polyamory, ENM, and Alternative Lifestyle Affirmative
Trevor Project Volunteer and LGBTQIA2+ Ally
20 year Retired Air Force spouse
Mother to four daughters and three pushy dogs with no boundaries
LCSW, Practice Owner, Ally, Mother, Retired Air Force wife and lover of dogs, books, sushi and classic rock.
I have a few questions…
Where are you located?
5274 Lyngate Court in Burke near Braddock Road and Rolling Road. Ample and free parking with elevator if needed.
fees/insurance
Individual sessions are: 50 minutes: $190 and 80 mins: $250
Couples’ sessions are: 55 minutes: $225 and 80 mins: $300
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) : 90 mins: $300 - Intensives are also offered for two or three hour blocks delivering powerful and fast results without frequency of sessions.
Free consultations are offered to determine best options and appointments may be scheduled on Saturdays to allow for comfort and ease.
I currently accept Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield for individual sessions only, and can provide superbills and support for out of network plans.
Couple’s sessions are not eligible for insurance. Insurance companies require every couple to have one individual with a “diagnosable disorder” requiring couple’s therapy to co-requlate and manage. This then becomes subject to the unscrupulous practices of documentation auditing by non-mental health professionals and frequent re-validations with risk of termination of coverage if the insurer doesn’t believe couple’s support is warranted. This has caused much distress for my clients.
I am not willing to expose your privacy to third party audits and pathology that could be prohibitive, permanent, and compromising.
There are some practices who comply so if you are seeking to get reimbursed or use your benefits for couple’s therapy, please contact your insurance directory for a list of approved providers.
I HAVE A SECURITY CLEARANCE OR SENSITIVE POSITION.
Most of my clients have clearances and positions requiring protection from third party access or random intrusive audits. The way to protect session notes and documentation is to elect private pay which keeps your file off the computer, locked and strictly confidential with no outside access without your written permission. If you need a protected payment portal, I offer that as well.
do you offer on line or in person?
Both! I offer online therapy from a secured portal anywhere in Virginia or in person, in Burke, from the world’s most comfortable couch.
WHAT KIND OF THERAPY DO I NEED?
My core belief is whatever approach speaks to you, and inspires you, is what will have the most impact.
I am trained in CBT, DBT, ART, Internal Family Systems, Gottman and EFT for couples. Ultimately what works is what works for you. More about my work here.
I heard you bring your dog!
Yes! if you don’t have any allergies or concerns, my very fat and lazy basset hound, Sadie can join in your session. She has no boundaries or respect for personal space but she sleeps - a lot.
If you have a dog that wants to come with you or who would be a comfort to you - please let me know in advance and I will always make room for family.
any other questions? feel free to reach out.
Let’s work together.
The fact that you are here means you are ready to create real change.
Because growth doesn’t happen in your comfort zone.