Claire McDonough
Calm guidance for practical change
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Experience
- 21 years
- Licensed in
- New Jersey
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Claire
Claire McDonough is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than two decades of experience in mental health. She holds a Master of Social Work and a Bachelor of Social Work and practices in New Jersey. Claire aims to make the first steps into therapy feel straightforward and humane.
She listens carefully and offers practical direction without judgment. Her approach mixes evidence-based tools such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy with emotion-focused work.
Background and approach
Claire uses these methods to address anxiety, depression, mood disorders, attention differences, and stress-related concerns. She also supports people facing grief, trauma, identity questions, and issues around intimacy and relationships. Sessions focus on building trust, naming priorities, and trying concrete skills that can be used between meetings.
Claire balances respect and empathy with gentle challenge so clients can move toward their goals. She draws on 21 years of front-line experience across outpatient and community mental health settings. People who prefer different communication styles can work with her using video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging.
Sessions are delivered in English and follow the licensing standards for New Jersey. Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time. To begin, a short questionnaire and scheduling step match people to the right therapist.
Claire supports a collaborative process that lets clients set the pace and decide which skills or therapy directions feel most useful.
How evidence-based approaches work online
Claire often draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which helps people spot unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors to change feelings. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, and many everyday stressors. She also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy to teach skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and better interpersonal effectiveness; DBT can be especially helpful when strong emotions or impulsivity get in the way of daily life.Choosing an approach is a collaborative process. Claire will talk through your concerns, goals, and preferences and then suggest methods that fit. She checks in and adjusts the plan as needed rather than sticking rigidly to one path.
Online sessions are offered by video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video lets you see facial expressions and practice new skills together. Phone can be simpler on busy days, and messaging supports brief check-ins or skill practice between meetings. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, and life schedules while keeping the focus on practical tools and steady progress.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Concrete skills for riding out strong emotion, tolerating distress, and handling relationships without things escalating. The skills are practised in daily life, so between-session support by message or phone fits naturally.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
Attends to the emotions underneath a recurring argument or distance, and to the attachment needs driving them. Often used where a relationship keeps returning to the same painful loop.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Parenting issues
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 21 years
- Licensed
- New Jersey
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Claire
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point