Al Balaa, MD, LCPC

Al Balaa is a Maryland-based therapist with 12 years of experience helping people navigate hard emotions. He uses a straightforward, human approach to help clients make sense of stress, anxiety, grief, and life transitions.

He centers sessions on building self-compassion and repairing feelings of guilt and shame. Al helps people notice patterns that keep them stuck and then tries practical ways to change those patterns. He also supports people coping with trauma, addiction, bipolar mood shifts, and low self-esteem.

Sessions tend to be calm and direct. He listens first, then offers tools drawn from cognitive-behavioral methods and skills-based work. People often leave sessions with a simple plan to try between meetings and a focus on small, manageable steps.

Al brings a client-centered stance to therapy, which means he follows each person’s pace and priorities. He also uses elements of dialectical behavior therapy and existential approaches when they fit the goals. His medical degree, MD, and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor credential, LCPC, inform a practical understanding of health and behavior.

He welcomes conversations about forgiveness, life purpose, and self-love alongside more immediate problems like anger, relationship stress, or career strain. The aim is steady progress - helping people feel more capable of handling life’s ups and downs.

How therapy approaches work online

Al uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and test small behavior changes to reduce anxiety and depression. CBT focuses on clear strategies you can practice between sessions to change how you feel and act.

He also brings a client-centered approach that puts the person's goals first. In that style the therapist listens carefully and follows the client's pace, shaping sessions around what matters most to the person.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, is used when stronger emotion regulation and coping skills are needed. DBT teaches practical skills for managing intense feelings, improving relationships, and tolerating distress without making things worse.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will help you decide what fits your needs, goals, and preferences and may mix methods over time. That teamwork helps tailor sessions so they feel useful and realistic.

Online options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video works well for longer sessions with visual cues, phone is handy when bandwidth is limited, chat can be useful for short check-ins, and text messaging supports ongoing brief contact and reminders. These formats make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into a busy life.