Tiffany A. Richburg
Hi, I’m Tiffany, a licensed clinical social worker who provides individual therapy for adults navigating anxiety, depression, trauma-related stress, grief, major life transitions, emotional overwhelm, low self-confidence, relationship difficulties, and challenges with boundaries or communication. My goal is to provide a welcoming and nonjudgmental space where you can speak openly, feel understood, and explore the experiences that have shaped how you think, feel, cope, and connect with others. I understand that many people come to therapy after spending years taking care of everyone else, pushing through difficult situations, minimizing their own needs, or trying to hold everything together. You may appear strong and capable to others while privately feeling exhausted, disconnected, anxious, or unsure of what to do next.
I emphasize accountability, skill-building, and real-world application so individuals and couples can make consistent, measurable progress both in and outside of sessions.
My approach is supportive, collaborative, and practical. We will make room to process difficult emotions while also identifying patterns, developing coping strategies, strengthening communication, and creating meaningful steps toward change. I believe therapy should provide more than a place to talk—it should help you understand yourself more clearly and use that understanding in your everyday life. Whether you are experiencing a recent challenge or working through patterns that have developed over many years, we will begin where you are and move at a pace that respects your needs. I currently provide individual psychotherapy for adults and am not accepting new couples or family therapy clients.
First session
Your first session is an opportunity for us to begin building a comfortable and collaborative therapeutic relationship. Starting therapy can bring relief, nervousness, uncertainty, or all three at once. You are not expected to tell your entire story in one appointment or know exactly how to describe everything you have been experiencing. We will discuss what brought you to therapy, what feels most difficult right now, and what you hope will be different as a result of our work. I will ask questions about your current symptoms, stressors, relationships, coping strategies, strengths, and relevant experiences so I can better understand the full picture. You will also have space to ask questions, express concerns, and share what you need from therapy. My approach is conversational and structured without feeling like an interrogation. We will move at a pace that allows you to feel heard while gathering the information needed to begin identifying priorities. We may discuss patterns you have noticed, areas where you feel stuck, and strategies that could provide initial support. By the end of the session, my goal is for you to feel that your concerns were taken seriously and that you have a clearer understanding of where we are starting. We will begin identifying your treatment goals and discuss what ongoing therapy may look like. You may also leave with an initial observation, coping strategy, or practical next step to use before our next session.
Strengths
I bring warmth, compassion, honesty, clinical experience, and a genuine respect for each client’s individual story. I understand that opening up to someone new can feel uncomfortable, particularly if you are accustomed to handling problems independently, have felt misunderstood in the past, or are uncertain whether therapy will help. I work intentionally to create an environment where you can feel emotionally safe while still engaging in meaningful and productive work. My therapeutic style balances support with gentle challenge. I will listen carefully and validate your experiences, but I will also help you look beneath the surface, recognize recurring patterns, consider different perspectives, and examine whether familiar ways of coping are still serving you. I believe clients benefit from both compassion and accountability, and I provide each in a way that respects your pace, readiness, and goals. I also bring a practical and structured perspective to therapy. Our sessions will not be limited to discussing what went wrong during the week. We will work to understand why certain situations affect you, identify the thoughts and emotions connected to your reactions, and develop strategies you can apply outside of therapy. Clients can expect me to be engaged, approachable, direct when appropriate, and invested in their progress. I meet people where they are without losing sight of where they want to go. My goal is for you to leave therapy with greater insight, stronger coping skills, healthier boundaries, increased confidence, and a more trusting relationship with yourself.
Ideal clients
I work best with adults experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma-related stress, grief, major life transitions, low self-confidence, family strain, or relationship difficulties. You may feel emotionally exhausted, overwhelmed by responsibilities, or stuck in patterns that are no longer working for you. You may struggle with overthinking, people-pleasing, avoiding conflict, withdrawing, managing strong emotions, trusting others, or setting boundaries without guilt. You may recognize that something needs to change but feel unsure about where to begin or how to make changes that last. You do not need to have everything figured out before starting therapy. I work well with clients who are willing to examine their experiences and patterns and who want a balance of emotional support, honest feedback, and practical strategies. Together, we will identify the concerns affecting your daily life, clarify your goals, and develop skills that fit your needs. Progress may include managing emotions more effectively, communicating clearly, establishing healthier boundaries, increasing confidence, improving relationships, and responding to difficult situations in healthier ways.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help you understand how your thoughts, emotions, physical responses, and behaviors influence one another. When you are experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma-related stress, low confidence, or emotional overwhelm, certain ways of thinking can intensify distress and make it more difficult to respond effectively. Together, we will identify automatic thoughts, assumptions, and recurring beliefs that may affect how you interpret yourself, other people, and challenging situations. We will examine these patterns with curiosity rather than judgment and determine whether they are accurate, helpful, or connected to earlier experiences. The goal is not to force positive thinking or dismiss legitimate concerns. Instead, CBT can help you develop a more balanced and flexible perspective. We may also identify behaviors such as avoidance, withdrawal, overthinking, people-pleasing, or difficulty following through that temporarily reduce discomfort but contribute to longer-term problems. You will learn practical strategies to interrupt these cycles and make choices that more closely reflect your needs, values, and goals. CBT gives us a structured way to understand what is happening while developing tools you can practice between sessions. Over time, progress may include less self-criticism, improved problem-solving, reduced emotional reactivity, increased confidence, and a greater ability to respond thoughtfully when difficult thoughts or situations arise.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I incorporate Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to help you manage intense emotions, tolerate distress, communicate more effectively, and navigate difficult situations without feeling controlled by the moment. DBT can be especially useful when emotions escalate quickly, conflict feels overwhelming, or you find yourself reacting in ways that you later regret. We may begin by increasing awareness of your emotional and physical cues so you can recognize activation before it becomes unmanageable. You will learn strategies for grounding yourself, slowing down impulsive reactions, tolerating temporary discomfort, and making intentional decisions. We will also explore ways to validate your emotions without allowing them to determine every response. Interpersonal effectiveness is another important part of this work. We may practice identifying your needs, communicating assertively, setting and maintaining boundaries, responding to conflict, and balancing care for others with respect for yourself. These skills are particularly valuable for clients who struggle with people-pleasing, avoidance, emotional shutdown, anger, or difficulty expressing themselves. DBT recognizes that two things can be true at once: your feelings and experiences are valid, and some responses may still need to change. My role is to support both acceptance and growth. Progress may look like recovering more quickly after a stressful event, expressing yourself more clearly, making fewer impulsive decisions, and feeling more capable of managing difficult emotions.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
I use mindfulness-based strategies to help you slow down, reconnect with yourself, and become more aware of what is happening internally. When life feels overwhelming, it is easy to operate on autopilot, become consumed by anxious thoughts, disconnect from your emotions, or react before fully understanding what you need. Mindfulness does not require you to empty your mind or ignore difficult feelings. Instead, it involves learning to notice thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and urges without immediately judging them or acting on them. This awareness creates space between what you experience and how you respond. During therapy, we may use breathing exercises, grounding techniques, guided reflection, body awareness, or other practices that can be incorporated into everyday life. We will identify strategies that feel realistic and comfortable rather than expecting you to follow a rigid meditation practice. Mindfulness may also help you recognize early signs of stress, anxiety, emotional activation, or burnout. Over time, these practices can support emotional regulation, self-compassion, improved concentration, and more intentional decision-making. Progress may look like being able to remain present during uncomfortable emotions, interrupt cycles of overthinking, recognize your needs earlier, and respond to difficult situations with greater calm and clarity. The goal is not to eliminate every uncomfortable thought or emotion, but to help you feel less controlled by them.
Attachment-based
In individual therapy, I use attachment-based approaches to help you understand how earlier relationships and life experiences may influence how you connect with yourself and others today. Attachment patterns can affect how you respond to closeness, emotional distance, conflict, rejection, trust, vulnerability, boundaries, and unmet needs. You may notice that you become anxious when someone pulls away, avoid difficult conversations, shut down during conflict, overextend yourself to maintain relationships, or struggle to trust others even when you desire closeness. These responses often developed for understandable reasons. Therapy offers an opportunity to explore them without shame and determine whether they still support the life and relationships you want. We will look at recurring emotional and relational patterns, identify triggers, and explore the beliefs you may carry about yourself, other people, and what you must do to feel secure or accepted. This work is not about blaming family members, former partners, or your past. It is about developing insight into how earlier experiences may continue to shape present-day choices and reactions. As awareness grows, we will practice healthier ways of communicating needs, establishing boundaries, tolerating vulnerability, and creating emotional safety. Progress may include trusting your judgment, feeling less consumed by rejection, choosing healthier relationships, and developing a more secure and compassionate relationship with yourself.
Trauma Informed Care
I approach therapy with an understanding that trauma and other painful experiences can affect how you think, feel, cope, trust, and connect with others. Trauma may be connected to a single event, repeated experiences, loss, betrayal, unsafe relationships, chronic stress, or circumstances in which your emotional needs were repeatedly overlooked. Trauma-informed care means recognizing that many reactions viewed as problematic may have developed as attempts to survive, remain safe, or manage experiences that felt overwhelming. Rather than asking what is wrong with you, we work to understand what happened, how it affected you, and what you need now. Our work emphasizes emotional safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and respect. You will not be pressured to disclose details before you feel prepared. We will move at a pace that supports stability while helping you recognize triggers, regulate emotional and physical responses, strengthen coping skills, and reconnect with your sense of control. Depending on your needs, we may explore how trauma affects self-worth, relationships, boundaries, decision-making, and the way your body responds to perceived danger. Healing does not mean forgetting what happened or pretending it no longer matters. It means reducing the power those experiences have over your present life. Progress may include feeling safer in your body, understanding your reactions, experiencing less shame, trusting yourself more, and making decisions from a place of choice rather than fear.
Location
Virtual sessions