Claudia Richards, LICSW

Claudia Richards is a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, and big life changes. She offers steady, practical support and aims to help clients feel more capable in daily life.

She listens for what matters most and builds therapy around each person's goals. Sessions focus on skills clients can use between meetings, clear steps for handling upsetting moments, and ways to improve communication and self-worth. Claudia pays attention to identity and life context so care fits the person in front of her.

Her background includes long experience with addiction issues, grief, parenting concerns, bipolar disorder, and workplace stress. She also works with people affected by adoption and foster care, attachment concerns, blended family issues, and relationship problems like infidelity and commitment worries.

Claudia uses practical psychotherapy methods such as cognitive behavioral approaches, dialectical behavior ideas, emotionally-focused work, client-centered listening, and mindfulness practices. These methods are used to teach coping tools, manage strong emotions, and rebuild connection where that is a goal.

Based in the District of Columbia, she provides care that pays attention to cultural context and the pressures of busy lives. Claudia aims for clear, down-to-earth sessions that help people take manageable steps toward feeling steadier and more in control.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Claudia often uses cognitive behavioral ideas to help clients notice unhelpful thoughts, test them, and try small behavior changes. This work is practical and goal-focused, useful for anxiety, depression, and stress management.

She also draws on client-centered principles, which means sessions start from listening carefully and following the client's priorities. That approach helps people feel heard and shapes the plan to fit their life. Claudia integrates dialectical behavior concepts when emotion regulation and distress tolerance are needed, teaching concrete coping skills for intense moments.

Finding the right approach is collaborative. Claudia will work with each person to pick methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences, and she adjusts as progress unfolds. The plan can mix skill training, reflective conversation, and mindfulness practice depending on what helps most.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions let people practice skills in real time, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, chat and text help with quick check-ins or brief coaching between meetings. These options make scheduling more flexible and allow therapy to fit into busy days.