Licensed to practice in New York and accepts 10 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Career Counseling, Trauma and PTSD and 4 more.

Julia McNamara

LCSW, 12 years of experience
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New to Grow

VirtualAvailable

About me

Before becoming a therapist, I spent more than 20 years building businesses, developing products, leading teams, and working with high-achieving professionals in demanding environments. Today, I bring that perspective into my clinical work, helping clients who may look highly successful on the outside while feeling anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, or stuck on the inside. I understand the pressures that can accompany achievement, including perfectionism, burnout, career transitions, relationship challenges, and the feeling that your external persona no longer matches how you truly feel. My goal is to help clients understand what is keeping them stuck, reconnect with what matters to them, and develop practical strategies to move forward. I work with clients navigating career challenges, anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship difficulties, and major life transitions. Whether you are struggling to make a career decision, recovering from a difficult experience, questioning an identity built around achievement, or simply know that something needs to change but aren't sure how to move forward, therapy can provide a space to step back, gain perspective, and create a path forward that feels both meaningful and sustainable.

Get to know me

In our first session together, here's what you can expect

You don't need to have everything figured out before we meet—we'll start wherever you are and work together to understand what you need. I want therapy to feel collaborative, supportive, and useful from the beginning. Our first session is an opportunity for us to get to know each other and begin understanding what brought you to therapy. We'll talk about your current concerns, what's been feeling difficult or stuck, and what you'd like to change. We'll also explore your personal, professional, and relationship history as it relates to your goals. Together, we'll identify priorities for our work and begin developing practical strategies to help you move forward.

The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions

My approach is warm, candid, collaborative, and practical. I believe therapy should provide both a safe space to be heard and an opportunity to create meaningful change. I can quietly hold space when you need to process, reflect, or simply be understood, but I am also comfortable gently pushing back when I see patterns that may be keeping you stuck. I don't believe in simply telling clients what they want to hear; I believe in being honest, compassionate, and curious about what is really happening beneath the surface. My own professional background in business, technology, and entrepreneurship gives me an understanding of demanding careers, high expectations, leadership pressure, and the ways that achievement can become intertwined with identity and self-worth. I work to help clients recognize when the qualities that helped them succeed—perfectionism, independence, responsibility, and persistence—may also be contributing to anxiety, burnout, relationship difficulties, or feeling stuck. Together, we can honor what has worked while developing new ways of thinking and responding that allow you to move forward with greater flexibility, self-awareness, and authenticity.

The clients I'm best positioned to serve

I work to help clients recognize when the qualities that helped them succeed—perfectionism, independence, responsibility, and persistence—may also be contributing to anxiety, burnout, relationship difficulties, or feeling stuck. I generally work with adults, aged 21+. I work especially well with clients who recognize that their successful outer persona doesn't always match how they feel inside. You may be accomplished professionally while feeling anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, uncertain, or simply exhausted from trying to keep everything together. Whether you're facing a difficult career decision, recovering from trauma, questioning what comes next, or trying to create a healthier balance between achievement and well-being, I offer a candid, supportive, and collaborative space to understand what's happening and develop practical strategies to move forward.

Specialties

Top specialties

Anxiety

Trauma and PTSD

Other specialties

Depression

Health/Medical Issues

Identifies as

Serves ages

Licensed in

Location

Virtual

My treatment methods

Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

I draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients recognize unhelpful patterns, develop greater psychological flexibility, and take meaningful action toward the life they want.

Acceptance and commitment (ACT)

I draw from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and trauma-informed approaches to help clients recognize unhelpful patterns, develop greater psychological flexibility, and take meaningful action toward the life they want.

Interpersonal

I help Clients recognize unhelpful external communication patterns, social support systems and interpersonal communication issues that arise from depression or grief. This therapy is very helpful for massive life adjustments like retirement, changing jobs or a major medical illness.

Supportive

I help Clients get through any major difficult life transition - breakup, divorce, job firing or role change or a major medical illness.

New to Grow
This provider hasn’t received any written reviews yet. We started collecting written reviews January 1, 2025.