Therapy In DC
Therapy to help you understand and change painful feelings and outdated patterns
Hello, I’m Claire Connolly, LICSW. I help you uncover what’s underneath your distress and negative patterns, so you can resolve them, feel more like yourself, and enjoy your life.
I offer in-person individual and couples therapy in Dupont Circle, Washington, DC, and online therapy for residents of DC, Maryland and Virginia.
On-paper, you’re functional.
Inside, you’re wondering how you ended up in a life or relationship that doesn’t feel right.
Unhealthy behaviors and relationship dynamics
Ongoing distress, anxiety, or depression
Feeling unfulfilled and conflicted about how to change things
Often, these things are signals that there’s something from your past influencing you today — even if it seems “not that bad,” or like you should be over it by now.
The pain you might feel today
“I don’t feel great about life or myself, and I’m not sure how I got here.”
“The anxiety or depression keeps coming back without a clear cause.”
“I’m frustrated or not fulfilled in my relationship and I don’t know what to do.”
"I keep finding myself doing this ‘bad’ thing and I don't know why.”
The lingering pain you might carry
Alcoholism or other addiction in your family
Emotionally immature parents
Abandonment or betrayal
Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, verbal)
Always felt like your needs were “too much”
Parents who criticized you or didn’t meet your basic childhood needs
We’re motivated by forces that we are not always aware of
I focus on the “why” behind your symptoms, typically found in past experiences and your early life.
1
Explore your life
I help you explore your life experiences to see where the patterns and connections are that you might not be conscious of.
2
Release old patterns
You start to feel the difference between who you had to become and who you actually are.
The patterns loosen their grip as you understand where they came from and develop self-compassion.
3
Become Different
You become different, which leads to feeling different and makes different choices, behaviors, and internal experiences inevitable.
Learn more about my therapy specialties
Who I often work with as a therapist based in DC
This is not an exhaustive list. If you like my approach but don’t see yourself here, please reach out regardless.
Individuals
I work with adults across a range of ages, with particular experience supporting:
Political, government, intelligence, nonprofit and international development professionals
People working through family-of-origin issues, trauma, and relationship patterns
New or expecting parents navigating the stress of pregnancy, postpartum, parenthood, or IVF
Couples
I work with couples across the full spectrum of identities and life stages, including:
Couples navigating infidelity
Partners working through communication and trust issues
Childfree couples and parents alike
Same-sex, trans, poly and nontraditional partnerships
“Claire is a gifted psychodynamic clinician with a rare combination of depth, warmth, and rigor. She has a genuine gift for helping clients slow down and understand the roots of their patterns rather than just managing symptoms. Clients come to trust her deeply and experience lasting change from working with her—she's the kind of colleague I'd send my own family to.”
Liza Chapkovsky, LICSW
Transcend your history.
Get started with therapy.
We’ll start with a complimentary consultation over the phone or video, so that we can see if my approach is right for you.