Wendy Johnston , MD, LCSW-C

Wendy Johnston is a clinician who focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and challenges tied to trauma and self-esteem. She brings 20 years of professional experience and works with each person in a respectful, compassionate way. Wendy aims to make the first step feel manageable for people who are worried or unsure.

Her style is practical and straightforward. Conversations are shaped to fit what each person needs, and plans are adjusted as progress is made. She helps people talk through feelings of shame, guilt, loneliness, or impulsivity and addresses concerns such as ADHD, social anxiety, and seasonal mood shifts.

Wendy also supports people dealing with life-stage issues like midlife transitions, aging and geriatric concerns, and caregiver stress. She has experience addressing veteran and armed forces issues and the long-term effects of post-traumatic stress. Her approach includes exploring communication problems, forgiveness, and finding a clearer sense of life purpose.

Sessions are offered from Maryland and are delivered in English. Wendy holds an MD and is a Licensed Certified Social Worker-Clinical, and she draws on two decades of experience to shape practical steps forward. She focuses on listening carefully, setting achievable goals, and helping people build skills to manage day-to-day challenges.

People who choose her can expect a tailored plan and ongoing adjustments to care based on what works best. The emphasis is on realistic, usable strategies to improve mood, reduce anxiety, and strengthen self-love and resilience.

Evidence-informed approaches and online care

Wendy uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on helping people manage symptoms and improve daily functioning. One approach emphasizes practical coping skills and behavior changes to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms; this involves identifying patterns, building routines, and practicing manageable steps to feel steadier. Another approach centers on processing trauma and its effects by carefully working through difficult memories and learning strategies to reduce their impact on everyday life, which can help with post-traumatic stress and long-term anxiety.

Finding the right method is part of the process, and Wendy works collaboratively to choose what fits best. She asks about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before, then adjusts the plan as work unfolds. Clients help set the pace and decide whether to focus more on skill-building or on deeper processing over time.

Online therapy is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video is useful for in-depth conversations and visual connection, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or for shorter check-ins, live chat is good for brief exchanges, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules and different daily routines.