Couples therapists in Alexandria, VA

Hi there! I'm Dr Esmie, I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and PhD, Research Psychologist with more than three decades of professional and lived experience. I've lived much of my life in England and California and now currently reside in the DMV state of Virginia. I bring a broad multicultural perspective to my work.serving individuals, couples, and families from diverse cultural, social, and spiritual backgrounds.

My clinical practice integrates evidence-based approaches, including trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and strengths-based interventions. I have worked extensively with clients navigating trauma, life transitions, relational conflict, stress, and emotional challenges, helping them move toward healing and personal growth.

I believe meaningful change occurs when people feel genuinely seen, heard, and respected. I strive to create a safe, supportive therapeutic environment where clients can explore their experiences without judgment. Through collaboration, practical tools, and compassionate guidance, I help clients develop insight, strengthen resilience, and build healthier patterns of thinking, feeling, and behavior.

Above all, I value human dignity and authentic connection. I believe credentials may open doors, but character, empathy, and genuine care sustain lasting transformation.

Partner 1: “I reach for you, but it feels like you’re already gone.” I’m left wondering if I matter to you at all.” Partner 2: “When you come close, I feel the pressure to be perfect, so I pull back to protect us both.” These unspoken messages leave couples lonely and stuck. I help break this anxious–avoidant cycle so partners feel safe, seen, and deeply connected again.

“I don’t understand why I want closeness so badly, yet feel disappointed when I have it. Why do I feel lonelier than others, even when I’m not alone?” Or: “I care deeply, but people say I’m distant or hard to read. When emotions get intense, I shut down—not because I don’t feel, but because it feels like too much.”

These quiet tensions live beneath awareness for many people. Longing and self-protection pull in opposite directions. Needs feel confusing, emotions feel overwhelming or unsafe, and core beliefs quietly form—I’m too much, I’m not enough, connection costs me something.

I help people loosen these patterns, reconcile the Self with more truthful and adaptive beliefs, and move toward self-acceptance and interdependence—where connection no longer threatens safety, but deepens it.

After nine years serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, I realized my deepest fulfillment came not from fixing systems, but from walking with people. Leaving the military was not a departure from service—it was a continuation of it. I pursued social work and theological training to better support people in their most important relationships. Today, my practice is devoted to couples counseling and trauma-informed care. Drawing primarily from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and EMDR, I help couples slow conflict, understand what drives disconnection, and emotional safety. As a veteran and seminary-trained therapist, I bring structure, compassion, and steady hope—meeting clients with respect, grace, and a belief in lasting change.

I have my Master of Social Work from New York University and have worked in Social Services and Behavioral Healthcare for more than 26 years between New York City and Philadelphia. I offer individual therapy to support my clients in their work to live their best lives, whatever that means to them. I have experience working in inpatient psychiatry and outpatient counseling.

I work with individuals, couples, and families of all ages. I have a Masters in Clinical Health Psychology and a Masters in Nutrition/Dietetics, which helps lend to a holistic approach to my work with clients. I commonly work with health behavioral change, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, ADHD, OCD, and relationship change. My treatment approach utilizes a biopsychosocial lense in long-term therapy based in psychodynamic, strengths-based, and integrative work in overall health. I utilize coping skills from CBT, DBT, ACT, and Mindfulness. I incorporated life-skills such a assertiveness, boundaries, and career.

I love the work that I do and the healing relationships I have been able to foster with my clients. I believe that therapy is a form of self-care and I want to be an advocate of that for my clients. I welcome anyone who thinks they may want some support, whether long-term or short-term to reach out to me and set up a brief phone consultation.

I’ve been working in the mental health field for nearly a decade and bring a deep commitment to helping individuals heal, grow, and thrive. I hold a Master’s Degree in Forensic Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Washington, DC and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Marshall University in Huntington, WV. These academic foundations, combined with years of hands-on experience, have shaped my compassionate, informed, and client-centered approach to therapy.

Most recently I was serving as a Licensed Clinical Therapist where I provided individual and group therapy in an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for adults facing complex mental health and substance use challenges. I am currently working at a small group practice treating adults with stress, anxiety, depression, ptsd, and more. I hold sessions on the weekend and in the morning one a week.

At the heart of my practice is a belief in the power of authentic connection. I strive to create a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental space where clients feel empowered to explore difficult emotions, build insight, and take meaningful steps toward lasting change.

Starting therapy can feel vulnerable, especially if you’re used to being the one who holds things together for everyone else. I work with teens and adults who may look capable on the outside but feel overwhelmed, anxious, stuck, or disconnected on the inside. Many of my clients are insightful and thoughtful people who want more than quick coping strategies — they want to understand themselves more deeply and experience real, lasting change.

As a mental health therapist, I practice in Virginia, Delaware, Florida, and North Carolina, specializing in grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, addiction, anger management, and stress associated with life transitions.

Dr. Troy A. Waller, a Licensed Professional Counselor with more than two decades of experience, provides services across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. He focuses on trauma recovery and offers consultation to government agencies and hospital regarding stress, anxiety, and mental health concerns.