Poonam McKnight

I believe healing should honor every part of who we are: our stories, cultures, identities, creativity, relationships, and resilience.

Therapy isn't about pretending everything is okay. It's about creating enough safety to explore what hasn't been okay for a long time.

As a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, I provide virtual therapy for children, teens, adults, and couples across Maryland. My work is grounded in trauma-informed care, cultural humility, and the belief that healing happens through authentic relationships.

Throughout my career, I've worked in schools, juvenile detention centers, outpatient mental health, and maximum-security correctional facilities, where I facilitated parenting groups and supported individuals navigating trauma, grief, relationships, and life transitions. Every experience has reinforced one belief: people make sense when we take time to understand their stories.

Clients often appreciate that I bring warmth, humor, creativity, and genuine curiosity into the therapy room. While we'll absolutely have meaningful conversations, therapy with me may also include art, storytelling, games, mindfulness, values exploration, practical coping strategies, and other creative approaches that make healing feel more approachable and engaging.

If you're a parent, know this: some of the most incredible therapy I've witnessed has happened virtually. Children are often their truest selves at home, surrounded by the people, pets, toys, and spaces they love most. Those everyday moments become opportunities for connection, emotional growth, and healing. Families frequently tell me they're surprised by how naturally their child engages through a screen, and honestly, I love getting to meet kids in the environment where they already feel most like themselves.

No matter the age of my clients, the first session typically consists of me collaborating with my clients to assess what safety and comforts they need to trust in the process and be vulnerable with me. For approx. 55 minutes, I take the lead of my clients and /or families to gather information based on their lived experiences so I can meet them where they are. This session helps me to begin identifying what therapeutic approaches and interventions may be best to recommend.

Whether you're helping your child navigate big emotions, figuring out adulthood one day at a time, working through painful experiences, or trying to reconnect in your relationship, you don't have to do it perfectly.

You just have to be willing to begin.

My hope is that every client leaves therapy feeling a little lighter, a little more empowered, and reminded that healing is possible.