Laronda Barker , MD, LCSW-C

Laronda Barker is a clinician who combines medical and social work perspectives to help people manage stress and emotional challenges. She holds an MD and is a Licensed Certified Social Worker-Clinical (LCSW-C). Her style is warm, approachable, and nonjudgmental. She believes people can change how they feel by changing how they think. Her work draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ideas, empowerment-based coaching, and Motivational Interviewing to help clients move forward. Sessions focus on practical steps and clearer thinking rather than only on talk. Laronda helps people facing anxiety, depression, and major life changes. She also supports people dealing with relationship strain, workplace stress, caregiver burden, and issues tied to pregnancy and childbirth. Women's issues are a listed focus, so she pays attention to challenges many women describe. Her approach addresses attachment and abandonment concerns, feelings of guilt or shame, and isolation or loneliness. She assists people working through divorce or separation, money worries, and questions about life purpose and self-love. Communication problems and forgiveness work are also part of her practice. Sessions are offered with practical goals in mind. Laronda aims to help clients build skills for handling difficult moments and making daily life more manageable. She practices from Maryland and conducts therapy in English.

Approaches that guide online sessions

Laronda commonly draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ideas, which focus on identifying unhelpful thoughts and practicing new ways of thinking and behaving to reduce anxiety and low mood. These techniques often include simple homework and real-world practice to change day-to-day responses.

She also uses Motivational Interviewing principles to help people find their own reasons for change. This involves asking open questions, reflecting what the client says, and supporting small, doable steps toward goals. Empowerment-oriented work is part of her approach too, helping clients build confidence and clearer choices in stressful situations.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will collaborate with each person to select techniques that fit their goals, values, and practical needs. That might mean emphasizing skill practice for stress management or using reflective conversation to boost motivation.

Online therapy offers flexibility that many people find helpful. Video calls support face-to-face conversation, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text-based messaging can be used for brief check-ins or ongoing support between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while still working with a licensed professional.