Monique Gardner, LCSW

Monique Gardner, LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), brings a holistic, person-centered style to therapy and meets people where they are in their lives. They draw on motivational interviewing and solution-focused strategies to guide clients toward healthier coping methods, combining practical skills with a strengths-based perspective. Monique's work includes experience with dual diagnosis, LGBTQIA+ care, post-crisis treatment, grief, behavioral and mood disorders, eating disorders, OCD, psychosis, and trauma, and they note a specialty with 10+ in their practice.

They regularly integrate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), grief support, mindfulness, meditation, crisis care, and motivational interviewing to tailor treatment to each person's needs. Monique values collaboration and aims to help clients build tools for managing stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and concerns around self-esteem and trauma and abuse.

For those preferring in-person work, Monique maintains a waitlist with CapitolHill Consortium for Counseling & Consultation LLC and will share practice information and assist with coordination. They emphasize that there is no single rule book for addressing difficult experiences and that therapy is a place to gain insight, develop coping strategies, and find practical ways to handle what is troubling someone.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Monique commonly draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), as well as Attachment-Based Therapy. ACT helps people clarify their values and commit to actions that align with those values while learning to accept difficult thoughts and feelings - it can be useful for anxiety, stress, and patterns that feel stuck. CBT focuses on identifying and adjusting unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and related concerns. Attachment-Based Therapy explores relational patterns formed early in life and how they affect current relationships and emotional regulation, which can be helpful for attachment issues, relationship struggles, and trauma.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process - Monique works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods best match their goals, preferences, and needs, adapting strategies over time as progress is made.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering flexibility for scheduling and access. These formats allow licensed professionals and therapists to provide consistent support across distances, making it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to continue care when in-person visits are not possible.