Therapists in Virginia

Meet Shanelle McClaine, LCSW – Your Partner in Healing and Growth I help individuals reclaim their lives from anxiety, depression, PTSD, and the deep impact of trauma. As a trauma-informed psychotherapist and U.S. Air Force veteran with over 18 years of experience, I bring warmth, professionalism, and a deep understanding of how past experiences shape our present. Clients who work with me often describe feeling seen, heard, and truly understood—sometimes for the first time. My approach combines evidence-based therapies like EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and somatic practices, all tailored to your unique needs. Whether you're navigating emotional overwhelm, past trauma, or simply feeling stuck, I provide a safe, supportive space to process, heal, and grow. I specialize in working with adults, teens, and families across Virginia and have helped many clients move from surviving to thriving. Most begin noticing positive shifts within the first few sessions—feeling more grounded, confident, and connected to themselves and others. Therapy with me isn’t just about managing symptoms—it’s about rediscovering your strength, rewriting your story, and creating lasting change.

Beginning therapy can feel vulnerable, but it can also be a powerful step toward meaningful change. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 30 years of experience working with adolescents, adults, couples, and families. I am licensed in New York, Virginia, California, and Washington, and am approved by the Virginia Board to provide clinical supervision. I have worked in schools, foster care, public mental health, substance use treatment, and private practice, which gives me a deep understanding of how trauma, relationships, and life transitions shape our emotional well-being. I specialize in trauma-informed care and support clients navigating anxiety, mood disorders, complex trauma, relational challenges, and identity development, including gender and sexuality exploration. As a PhD student at the International Institute for Clinical Sexology, specializing in Advanced Gender Therapy, I provide affirming and thoughtful care. My approach is collaborative, respectful, and grounded in evidence-based practice. Together, we focus not only on reducing distress but on building resilience, clarity, healthier relationships, and greater self-trust. My goal is to create a space where you feel safe, understood, and empowered to move forward.

I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 25 years of experience specializing in trauma-informed care and anxiety-related concerns. I work from a strength-based approach to counseling, grounded in the belief that you already have the capacity to heal and grow. My role is to provide insight, ask thoughtful questions, and create a safe, supportive space where meaningful change can occur. Our work will focus on your goals while building self-awareness and practical skills to shift unhelpful patterns. Together, we’ll move at a pace that feels right, helping you create a life that feels more balanced, grounded, and aligned.

I am a Clinical Social Worker that focuses on helping people who are experiencing anxiety or depression. I have been in this field for more than 10 years and love watching people I work with feel like they have control over their lives again. I believe that the body and brain hold onto experiences after certain events and might get hung up or even stuck. In my assessments, I determine how these impacts can reveal themselves in our behaviors and the decisions that we make every day. I work to help identify where the mind and body have gotten hung up and I use an eclectic “whole person” approach to unraveling these barrier areas in life.

As a Board-Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC) and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Virginia, my hope is to engage in a collaborative therapeutic alliance with each individual & couple: fostering self-efficacy, developing new coping skills, focusing on strengths, and finding solutions that support your journey for self-discovery and overall healing. Using a framework of Person-Centered Therapy with techniques derived from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solutions-focused Therapy & Mindfulness-based Techniques, will help you learn to manage reactions to challenges as you integrate new perspectives into your life.

Life can change fast—new jobs, breakups, family stress, burnout, loss—and even when things look fine on the outside, inside you might feel anxious, stuck, or unsure who you are right now. You’ve been doing your best to hold it all together, but lately it’s started to feel like too much. I help people move through anxiety, trauma, grief, and major life transitions with a compassionate, mind-body approach that restores clarity, confidence, and calm. Therapy offers space to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with yourself—let’s take that next step together.

If you can read this, you made the first step. Congratulations. Seeking therapy is hard. Most people delay and tell themselves that whatever they are experiencing must be the way life is. Chances are if you have reached the point to begin exploring therapy, counseling can help make your life better. While therapy is often hard, it can be an enjoyable and uplifting experience as well. I believe that you cannot laugh without a combination of insight and relief. You can expect some humor in most sessions. I have been a Licensed Professional Counselor for over 20 years. In that time I have worked with men, women, teens, and families on a wide variety of issues. Sometimes that work simply involved helping them through a particular incident or life change that overwhelmed them. Other times our work together centered around longstanding issues of depression, anxiety, trauma, and addiction. In addition to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy, I also offer a fourth-wave therapy, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). I have found this technique to be highly effective in helping people with trauma and or anxiety. Our minds and bodies are connected. Anyone who has experienced a tight neck and shoulders or an upset stomach when they were stressed knows this. EFT uses acupressure (done by the client) and cognitive interventions to provide fast and effective relief. With over 20 years of clinical experience, I am ready to help you through the challenges you are facing. In addition to counseling, I also provide vocational testing, coaching, and consulting. I provide both Christian and secular counseling depending on the needs of my clients. For clients with high level confidentiality concerns due to corporate or clearance issues, there are ways we can do EFT without you ever speaking out loud about events.

Welcome! With over 20 years of experience and a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology granted at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, I am best positioned to serve individuals and families navigating challenges such as family conflicts, trauma, PTSD, and anxiety. My therapeutic expertise extends across various cultural contexts, having practiced in Puerto Rico and Massachusetts, and currently holding active licenses in Maryland and Virginia.

Hello, My core belief is that all people are created equal; therefore, everyone has equal right to leave to their fullest potential. I earned my master’s in social work from University of Maryland, School of Social Work, Baltimore, MD in 2010. I have Licensed Certified Social Worker - Clinical (LCSW-C) in MD, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in DC and Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW) in VA. For more than 10 years, I have utilized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), humanistic, person-center, strength-focused therapy and other psychotherapy Intervention to assess, plan, implement and evaluate individual or family in diverse therapy environment. I am commented to assist people to live life to their fullest potential because we all have one life to live, and we deserve to be in peace with ourselves. I have worked with people in LGBTQ+ community both in individual and couple session. I am WPATH qualify to write gender affirming surgery letter.