Licensed to practice in District of Columbia and accepts 11 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Burnout, Childhood / Intergenerational Trauma and 6 more.
Hi, I’m Aysia! I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor in Washington, DC with a Bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Studies and a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I’ve worked with children, teens, and adults ages 3–43, supporting clients through anxiety, trauma, life transitions, relationships, ADHD, autism, emotional and behavioral concerns, substance use, and everyday stressors. I’m a person-centered therapist who believes you deserve to feel heard, understood, and accepted as you are. My style is warm, genuine, supportive, and real—think “homegirl telling you like it is,” but with professional training, unconditional positive regard, and zero judgment. I’ll listen, laugh with you, challenge you when needed, celebrate your wins, and help you see things from a new perspective. I use person-centered, CBT, trauma-informed, strengths-based, solution-focused, and play-based approaches, tailoring therapy to your needs and goals. At the heart of my work is self-actualization: helping you understand yourself, recognize your strengths, build confidence, and develop the tools to navigate life with greater clarity and intention. Come as you are. We’ll figure out the rest together.
Your first session is about getting to know each other and seeing if we’re a good fit. We’ll talk about what brought you to therapy, what you hope to get out of it, and what you feel comfortable sharing. I’ll learn more about your experiences, strengths, and goals so we can begin creating a plan that fits your needs. The experience will look different depending on who I’m working with. With an individual, we’ll focus on building trust and understanding your story. With a child, I’ll prioritize connection, comfort, and creating a space where they can be themselves. With a family, we’ll begin understanding each person’s perspective and identifying where support is needed. Regardless of the client, I hope you leave feeling heard, respected, comfortable, and hopeful—with a sense that you don’t have to figure everything out alone and that we have a place to start.
One of my biggest strengths is my ability to connect with people and make them feel seen, heard, and understood. I bring authenticity, empathy, cultural humility, and a judgment-free approach to every session. I genuinely believe people can grow and change. You are not defined by your hardest experiences, mistakes, or current challenges. With the right support, tools, self-awareness, and willingness to grow, meaningful change is possible. I believe in accountability without shame. Sometimes you need someone to simply listen; other times, you need someone to lovingly say, “I hear you—but what are we going to do about it?” I’m also not here to give you all the answers. I’ll ask questions, challenge your thinking, help you recognize patterns, and offer tools—but I want you to discover your own answers and build confidence in your ability to navigate life independently. I’ll meet you where you are, walk alongside you, challenge you when needed, and help you discover what you’re capable of. I won’t do the work for you—but I’ll absolutely do the work with you.
My ideal client is someone who is curious, open-minded, and ready to understand themselves on a deeper level. You don’t have to have everything figured out—and honestly, that’s what therapy is for! You may be feeling stuck, overwhelmed, anxious, disconnected, or simply wondering, “Why do I keep doing this?” You may be working through childhood experiences, relationship patterns, life transitions, emotional challenges, or simply trying to become a better version of yourself. I especially enjoy working with clients who want to break unhealthy patterns, build confidence, strengthen relationships, develop coping skills, and become more independent in navigating life. I also enjoy working with parents and families who want to better understand their children, improve communication, and create healthier family dynamics. What matters most to me is your willingness to show up, be honest, and be curious about yourself. I’m not looking for perfection, and I won’t expect you to have all the answers. I want to help you discover them. If your goal is to heal, grow, understand yourself, build resilience, and ultimately feel more confident handling life on your own, we may be a great fit.
I use a person-centered and humanistic approach to create a space where you can feel safe, respected, and comfortable being yourself. I believe you are the expert on your own life, so I don’t come into the first session assuming I already know what you need or what your story means. Instead, I focus on getting to know you—your experiences, strengths, values, relationships, challenges, and goals. I use empathy, active listening, unconditional positive regard, and thoughtful questions to help you feel understood while also encouraging you to explore what may be underneath the challenges you’re experiencing. My humanistic approach also means I see you as a whole person—not a diagnosis or a problem that needs to be fixed. We’ll focus not only on what brought you to therapy, but also on your strengths, potential, and the person you want to become.
I help clients explore the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In our first sessions, we’ll look at what is happening in your life, how you’re interpreting those experiences, and how those thoughts may be influencing the way you feel and respond. I use CBT collaboratively, not as a “let me tell you what you’re doing wrong” approach. We’ll identify patterns together, question thoughts that may no longer be serving you, and explore healthier or more helpful ways of looking at situations. I may use thought exercises, reflection questions, coping strategies, and small between-session activities to help you practice these skills in real life. The goal isn’t to force yourself to “think positive,” but to develop a more balanced and realistic perspective. We’ll understand the pattern, practice a new approach, and help you build the confidence to do it on your own.
With a strengths-based approach, I focus on more than what brought you to therapy—I want to understand what has helped you get this far. Even when life feels overwhelming, you have strengths, experiences, relationships, values, and abilities that can become part of your growth. In our first sessions, we’ll explore your existing strengths and identify what is already working, even if it feels small. I may ask questions that help you recognize your resilience, problem-solving abilities, accomplishments, and personal resources that you may not always see in yourself. I believe people are capable of growth when they have the right tools and support. Rather than focusing only on “what’s wrong,” we’ll focus on what’s possible and how we can build from where you are. My goal is to help you recognize that you are capable of making choices, solving problems, and creating change. I’ll guide and support you, but I want you to develop the confidence to recognize your own strengths and eventually rely on them independently. We’re not starting from scratch—you’re bringing strengths with you. We’re going to discover them, build on them, and put them to work.
During our first sessions, I allow you to share at your own pace. You are always in control of what you share and when you share it. I won’t pressure you to revisit painful experiences before you are ready. Instead, we’ll focus on building trust, understanding how your experiences may be affecting you today, and developing coping skills that help you feel more grounded and empowered. I also approach trauma with curiosity rather than judgment. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with you?” we can explore, “What happened to you, and how did you learn to cope?” As we work together, we’ll identify patterns, strengthen your coping skills, build on your resilience, and explore healthier ways to respond to triggers and challenges.