LaDonna Barner , LMFT

LaDonna Barner is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people navigate relationship strain and personal setbacks. She focuses on improving self-esteem, parenting concerns, and communication so people feel heard and understood. Her style aims to make the first steps in therapy feel manageable and respectful.

LaDonna draws on six years of clinical experience in Mississippi to guide conversations about stress, anxiety, grief, and trauma. She uses practical, people-focused methods that encourage honest talk and emotional clarity. Sessions are aimed at helping clients identify what matters most and take small, realistic steps forward.

Her approach includes client-centered work, where the client's perspective shapes the conversation, and cognitive behavioral techniques to spot unhelpful thinking and shift patterns. She also uses emotionally focused ideas for relationship and intimacy concerns, and elements from the Gottman Method when communication and partnership issues are central.

LaDonna aims to create a calm, nonjudgmental space for exploring fears, anger, and difficult life changes. She listens for patterns that cause repeated conflict and offers straightforward strategies to change them. This can include tools for managing mood, coping with loss, and improving day-to-day interactions.

People who come to her often want clear, practical steps alongside empathetic listening. She supports parents working through parenting challenges and helps people facing issues like attention difficulties, mood disorders, and body image concerns. LaDonna encourages small actionable goals that fit each person’s life.

How therapeutic approaches work online

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on the client's own goals and experiences. The therapist listens closely and follows the client's lead to help them make sense of feelings and decisions. This approach is useful for self-esteem, life changes, and building confidence.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It teaches simple tools to change unhelpful thinking and develop healthier habits, which can help with anxiety, depression, and stress.

Emotionally-Focused Therapy helps people name and shift the emotional patterns that underlie relationship conflicts and intimacy issues. It supports clearer communication and stronger emotional connection between partners or individuals in close relationships.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what feels most useful, then adapt methods over time. Clients and the therapist decide collaboratively which techniques to try and when to adjust them.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls let people use visual cues for deeper conversations. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging allow brief updates, homework exchanges, or support between longer sessions. These options help people fit therapy into busy lives and keep progress moving forward.