LaJoya McDonald
Family-focused clinical social worker
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Experience
- 9 years
- Licensed in
- Tennessee, Texas, Missouri
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About LaJoya
LaJoya McDonald is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who brings nine years of experience to family and parenting concerns. She focuses on everyday problems like stress, anxiety, grief, relationship tensions, and parenting struggles. Her approach is direct and respectful, aimed at helping families find clearer communication and practical ways to cope.
She uses straightforward talk and plans shaped to each family's needs. Sessions look at what is happening now and what small steps could improve daily life.
Background and approach
She emphasizes compassion and respects each person’s pace during change. Training in cognitive behavioral therapy helps her guide clients to notice thoughts and try different behaviors. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness strategies are used to help people tolerate hard feelings while focusing on values and goals.
Motivational interviewing techniques support those making changes around addiction, health, or habits. LaJoya makes room for concerns across a wide range, including depression, trauma and abuse, ADHD, sleep problems, and caregiver stress. She also works with issues such as blended family dynamics, divorce and separation, and aging and geriatric concerns.
Her style blends practical tools with steady support. Parents and family members who want concrete steps and clear communication strategies will find this approach useful. She helps people identify priorities, set small goals, and track progress in ways that fit busy family life.
Therapeutic approaches that work well online
LaJoya frequently uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and try alternative behaviors. CBT is practical and often focuses on small changes that improve mood, sleep, and daily routines.She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which teaches how to accept difficult feelings while taking steps that match personal values. ACT can help with grief, anxiety, chronic stress, and making life changes without getting stuck in avoidance.
Finding the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will discuss goals, try methods that match those goals, and adjust based on what feels most useful. Clients and the therapist decide together which tools to use and when to change course.
Online formats let families fit therapy into busy schedules. Video calls provide face-to-face conversation from home. Phone sessions work when video is not possible. Live chat and text-based messaging offer brief check-ins and flexible ways to keep progress moving between sessions. These options can make it easier to attend regularly and practice new skills in real life.
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 LaJoya address?
What is her therapy style like?
What is her professional background?
Where is she licensed and based?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
What session formats are available?
How are fees and billing handled?
How do I begin working with her?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 9 years
- Licensed
- Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Florida, Washington
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to LaJoya
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point