Anna McDonaldLICSW, LCSW

Anna McDonald is a licensed clinical social worker with five years of master's level social work experience and a broader 15-year professional background. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and intimacy concerns, and the challenges that come with pregnancy and childbirth. She also helps with career changes, compassion fatigue, and the strain of isolation or loneliness.

Her approach is conversational and respectful. She tailors sessions to each person's needs and priorities. Sessions focus on practical steps people can try between meetings and on understanding patterns that keep problems repeating.

Anna uses a mix of methods to fit what someone needs in the moment. She draws on client-centered work to follow a person’s lead, cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful thoughts, and skills from dialectical behavior therapy to manage intense emotions. She also uses tools from motivational interviewing and the Gottman Method when relationship work is needed.

People who meet with Anna can expect a calm, nonjudgmental presence and clear, doable goals. She values sensitivity and compassion and supports each person in making changes at their own pace.

Anna offers services in English and Spanish and practices in Minnesota as a LICSW and LCSW. To start, she asks people to complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule based on availability.

Therapeutic approaches and how they translate online

Anna uses client-centered therapy to follow each person's priorities, listening closely and shaping sessions around what matters most. This approach helps people feel heard and build a plan that fits their life. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying thoughts and behaviors that contribute to anxiety or low mood and testing new ways of responding to those patterns.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Anna will work collaboratively to decide which methods feel most useful based on your goals, symptoms, and preferences. Together you can try different techniques and adjust the plan as you learn what helps.

Please confirm current session formats before booking, as the biography does not list specific online options. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also let people join from different locations within the areas she serves. If having sessions in a particular format matters to you, check the available options when you schedule.