Dr. Pamela Kayanan, LPC, LMFT

Dr. Pamela Kayanan uses practical, evidence-informed methods to help people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, and mood concerns. She is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed marriage and family therapist in Virginia with 25 years of clinical experience. Her work focuses on helping people who have faced trauma, mood disorders, and challenging relationship or parenting situations.

She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, client-centered techniques, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, mindfulness practices, and motivational interviewing to structure sessions. In practice this means identifying unhelpful thinking patterns, building new coping skills, and setting concrete goals. Sessions are conversational and action-oriented so people leave with clear steps to try between meetings.

Kayanan has long experience addressing addictions of many kinds - substance use, alcohol, compulsive work behaviors, and other behavioral addictions. She also supports people coping with grief, abandonment or attachment concerns, blended family stress, and caregiver strain. Her background includes work with veterans and first responders dealing with post-trauma mood challenges.

Her approach emphasizes collaboration. She helps people name what matters most, choose doable goals, and test what works. Progress is tracked in simple, practical ways rather than abstract promises.

Sessions are offered in English and can be scheduled in formats that fit different needs. People who want to begin are guided through a short matching questionnaire and scheduling steps to connect with her practice.

Practical approaches online: CBT, client-centered work, and DBT skills

Dr. Kayanan often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors; this approach is useful for anxiety, depression, mood problems, and many forms of addiction. Client-centered work means sessions are built around the person’s priorities and experiences, with the therapist listening and reflecting to help clarify goals. Dialectical Behavior Therapy provides concrete skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and stronger interpersonal communication when feelings run high.

Choosing the right approach is part of the first conversations. The therapist will collaborate to match methods to a person’s goals, needs, and preferences and may combine techniques from different approaches as that fit becomes clearer. This is a shared process that adapts over time based on what produces useful change.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions let people work face-to-face when longer discussion or skill coaching is helpful. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and messaging support brief updates, in-the-moment coaching, and flexibility for people who prefer writing. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or other responsibilities while still working with licensed professionals.