Kristina MacDonald
Gentle, practical support for family and parenting concerns
- Credentials
- LMHC
- Experience
- 8 years
- Licensed in
- New York
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Kristina
Kristina MacDonald is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) based in New York who focuses on family and parenting concerns alongside a wide range of personal challenges. She aims to help people who feel overwhelmed, anxious, disconnected, or emotionally worn down. Kristina uses a practical, calm approach to help clients make small changes that add up over time.
She listens first to understand each person’s daily struggles and priorities. Sessions often focus on identifying patterns that keep stress and anxiety high, and then trying simple, doable skills to shift those patterns.
Background and approach
Kristina draws on tools from cognitive behavioral work and mindfulness to help with mood, focus, and everyday coping. Her background includes eight years working in counseling settings where she supported adults, teens, and couples through anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, and relationship conflict. She also works with people facing major life transitions, grief, and challenges around intimacy and addiction.
Kristina offers culturally responsive support for multicultural couples, helping partners talk through cultural differences, acculturation, family expectations, communication styles, and identity. Her style is collaborative and respectful, and she encourages practical steps clients can try between sessions. People who choose Kristina can expect straightforward conversation, goal-focused planning, and regular check-ins to see what’s working.
She asks clients to pick one or two priorities to start with and builds from there.
How her approaches are used in online therapy
Kristina commonly draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in her work. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck, and then commit to actions that match their values. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on spotting unhelpful thought patterns and trying different behaviors to shift mood and stress responses.Finding the right approach is a shared process. She works with clients to choose methods that fit their goals, needs, and preferences. Sessions begin with learning what matters most to the client, then testing small steps to see what helps, and adjusting as needed.
Confirm current online session options before booking, as the biography does not list specific formats. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life by reducing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins when needed, and offering more flexible scheduling around work or family responsibilities. The focus stays on practical tools and steady progress rather than quick fixes.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Less about arguing with difficult thoughts, more about loosening their grip and acting on what matters to you anyway. Values and committed action carry the work, which suits conversation at a distance.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
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.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
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What is her clinical background?
What credentials does she hold and where is she based?
Does she offer sessions in languages other than English?
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 8 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Kristina
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point