Individual Therapy
A thoughtful space to understand yourself more clearly
There are times when life becomes difficult to navigate alone.
You may be functioning on the outside—working, keeping up with responsibilities, maintaining relationships, and doing what needs to be done.
But internally:
You may feel anxious, disconnected, or overwhelmed
You may be struggling with depression, numbness, or low motivation
You may notice the same relationship patterns repeating
You may feel stuck in your career, identity, or direction
You may have difficulty focusing or feeling present
You may be carrying grief, trauma, shame, or unresolved experiences
You may sense that something in your life is no longer aligned, even if you cannot fully name what it is
Individual therapy gives you a steady place to slow down, understand what is happening, and begin relating to yourself and your life with more clarity.
At Forma Counseling, therapy is not one-size-fits-all.
We work with each person in a highly individualized way, combining practical tools, psychological depth, existential reflection, and attention to the patterns that shape how you think, feel, relate, and respond under stress.
Forma Counseling offers individual therapy for adults in Washington, DC, including neighborhoods like Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill, and surrounding areas.
Sessions are available in-person in Washington, DC and through telehealth across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
What Individual Therapy Can Help With
People come to individual therapy for many different reasons.
Some are seeking relief from anxiety, depression, stress, or emotional overwhelm. Others are trying to understand long-standing relational patterns, work through trauma, make sense of grief, or clarify the direction of their lives.
Individual therapy can help with:
Anxiety and chronic stress
Depression and emotional numbness
Relationship patterns and attachment concerns
Trauma, PTSD, and emotional overwhelm
Grief, loss, and major life transitions
Career burnout and professional stress
Difficulty focusing or feeling present
Perfectionism and self-criticism
Shame, guilt, or low self-worth
Conflict, boundaries, and communication
Questions of meaning, identity, purpose, and direction
Feeling stuck, disconnected, or unsure how to move forward
Therapy does not require that you have everything figured out before you begin.
Often, the first step is simply having a place where your experience can be taken seriously and understood with care.
Therapeutic Approaches We May Use
At Forma Counseling, therapy is tailored to the person rather than applied as a standardized model.
For individual therapy, we may draw from:
Existential therapy to explore meaning, identity, choice, responsibility, uncertainty, mortality, authenticity, and the life you are trying to build
Psychodynamic therapy to understand long-standing emotional patterns, unconscious conflicts, relational templates, and how the past continues to shape the present
CBT-informed therapy to work with anxious thoughts, negative beliefs, rumination, avoidance, perfectionism, and self-critical patterns
DBT-informed skills to strengthen emotional regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness
Internal parts work when different parts of you feel conflicted, protective, ashamed, numb, angry, fearful, or overwhelmed
Relationship-focused therapy to explore attachment patterns, boundaries, intimacy, trust, communication, and recurring relational dynamics
Trauma-informed therapy when symptoms are connected to survival responses, shame, dissociation, emotional flooding, or unresolved experiences
Reclaiming Focus work when anxiety, depression, burnout, ADHD traits, or emotional overwhelm have disrupted attention and presence
Bibliotherapy when carefully chosen readings, reflection, or writing can deepen insight between sessions
Clinical assessment tools when a clearer map of your cognitive style, emotional system, relational patterns, stress responses, and personality structure would help guide treatment
Single-session therapy when you need focused support around a specific decision, conflict, transition, or next step
This integrative approach allows therapy to meet the complexity of your actual life.
What You Can Expect
Clients often begin individual therapy feeling overwhelmed, confused, disconnected, stuck, or tired of repeating the same patterns.
Over time, many develop:
Greater emotional steadiness
More self-understanding
Less shame about their inner experience
More effective coping and communication skills
A clearer understanding of relationship patterns
More ability to tolerate uncertainty and difficult emotions
Improved boundaries and self-trust
Greater focus and presence
More connection to meaning, values, and direction
A stronger sense of agency in their lives
Therapy does not make life simple.
But it can help you become less alone with yourself and more capable of meeting life with clarity, responsibility, and care.
Individual Therapy for Depth, Skills, and Meaningful Change
Many people come to therapy wanting relief.
They want to feel less anxious, less depressed, less reactive, less stuck, or less overwhelmed.
That matters.
But therapy can also become a place to ask deeper questions:
Who am I becoming?
Why do I keep repeating this pattern?
What am I avoiding?
What do I actually value?
What kind of life feels worth choosing?
At Forma Counseling, individual therapy holds both levels of work.
We help you develop practical tools for daily life while also exploring the deeper emotional, relational, and existential patterns shaping your experience.
The work is calm, collaborative, and paced around your needs.
Schedule Individual Therapy in Washington, DC
Forma Counseling offers individual therapy for anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, grief, relationship patterns, burnout, emotional numbness, focus difficulties, self-worth, and questions of meaning and direction.
Sessions are available in-person in Washington, DC and through telehealth across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
Request a free 20-minute consultation to see if working together feels right.