- Client-centered support
- Practical coping skills
- Strengths focused
About Tonya
Tonya Pleasant is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) based in Maryland. She brings 25 years of experience and an approachable style to sessions, helping people facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, grief, and parenting worries. She aims to create a steadier sense of direction and clearer next steps for people who feel stuck.
Pleasant blends Client-Centered Therapy with practical methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She listens closely, reflects what she hears, and works with each person to set realistic goals. Sessions often include simple coping tools and behavior-change steps to try between meetings.
Her background includes a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Maryland, College Park, and undergraduate work in Family Therapy and Community Development. The LCPC credential is held in Maryland. Her broad experience includes helping people manage life transitions, caregiver stress, addiction concerns, and seasonal mood changes.
In the room she focuses on strengths, small experiments, and steady progress. She will help clients notice patterns in thinking and behavior and test new ways of responding. That practical focus supports people working on communication, forgiveness, self-love, or finding life purpose.
Pleasant works in plain language and keeps sessions goal-oriented. She encourages clients to celebrate steps forward and adjusts plans as needs change. To begin, prospective clients follow the site’s matching and scheduling process to connect and plan their first visit.
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and responding to each person's experience. It emphasizes empathy, respect for choices, and building on a person’s own strengths to solve problems. This approach helps when someone needs a steady, nonjudgmental space to sort through emotions and decisions.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages people to notice difficult thoughts and feelings without letting them drive behavior. ACT pairs values-based goals with small, practical steps, which can be useful for anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts influence actions and teaches concrete techniques to change unhelpful patterns, often helping with anxiety, sleep, and mood issues.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they shape a plan and try methods that fit the client’s life, adjusting as needed.
The original biography does not list specific online or phone session formats, so confirm available session types before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, cut travel time, or use shorter check-ins when needed. Licensed professionals can adapt Client-Centered, ACT, and CBT techniques to remote sessions so people can practice skills and track progress between meetings.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
25+ years
Listed in
Maryland
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does this therapist address?
Tonya helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and intimacy-related issues, parenting and family concerns, addictions, sleep and eating problems, anger, career questions, and compassion fatigue.
What is the therapist's approach in sessions?
She uses Client-Centered Therapy alongside approaches such as CBT, ACT, DBT, and EFT to listen, set goals, and teach coping and behavior-change techniques.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 25 years of experience working in counseling and mental health settings with a wide range of concerns.
What credentials and region are listed?
She holds a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor credential - LCPC - in Maryland and completed graduate study at the University of Maryland, College Park.
In what language can I meet with this therapist?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
The original biography does not specify session formats; please confirm current session options before booking.
How is payment handled and what does it cost?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with this therapist?
Use the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the crisis numbers.