Donna Bolinger, LCSW, MD, LCSW-C
Compassionate, practical support for life and parenting challenges
Book with Donna- Years in practice
- 6
- Credentials
- LCSW, MD, LCSW-C
- Licensed in
- Maryland, Pennsylvania
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- LGBT
- Focus
- Grief
- Focus
- Depression
About Donna
Donna Bolinger is a licensed clinical social worker who offers practical, person-focused therapy for people managing major life stresses. She brings six years of work as an LCSW and LCSW-C and aims to help people make steady, manageable changes. She uses a strengths-based, client-centered approach that starts with listening.
Sessions focus on concrete goals you set together. Donna helps people talk through grief, anxiety, depression, parenting challenges, relationship and intimacy issues, and problems with sleep or eating.
Background and approach
Her background includes work with people facing chronic illness, caregiving strain, and the effects of aging. She also supports people dealing with addictions, compassion fatigue, ADHD concerns, career stress, and identity issues related to LGBT matters. That range means she adapts tools to each person’s situation rather than following a single script.
Donna draws from several therapeutic methods to match the work to the need. She blends cognitive behavioral techniques for changing unhelpful thinking with mindfulness to calm stress and narrative ideas to reframe difficult stories. Motivational interviewing helps when someone is ready to change habits or build healthier routines.
In sessions she focuses on clear steps and honest conversation. The aim is to leave each meeting with a small, doable plan. Donna works with people in Pennsylvania and offers multiple remote session options to fit busy lives.
What Donna works with
Everything Donna lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Donna helps people with.
- LGBT
- Grief
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Donna lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How therapeutic approaches shape online care
Donna combines client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness in ways that suit remote work. Client-centered therapy focuses on empathetic listening and meeting the person where they are, which helps form clear goals during online sessions. Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at thoughts and behaviors and adds practical exercises people can try between sessions to reduce anxiety or change habits. Mindfulness therapy teaches short attention and breathing practices that can be used during video or phone sessions to lower stress and improve sleep.Choosing the right approach is a joint process. The therapist will talk through your goals and try methods you feel comfortable with. Together you track what helps and adjust the plan to fit your needs and preferences so the work stays useful and manageable.
Online therapy makes those approaches easier to use in day-to-day life. Video calls let you practice skills in real time. Phone sessions can fit a short break from work or require less bandwidth. Live chat and text-based messaging are handy for quick check-ins, brief coaching, or when writing out a problem helps clarify next steps. These options aim to make therapy more flexible and easier to keep up with during a busy week.
Questions people ask about Donna
What concerns does she commonly address?
Donna works with a wide range of concerns including grief, depression, anxiety, stress, parenting challenges, relationship and intimacy issues, addictions, sleep and eating problems, and compassion fatigue.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She practices a client-centered, strengths-based approach and mixes clear techniques like cognitive behavioral methods, mindfulness exercises, narrative work, and motivational interviewing to meet immediate goals.
What relevant experience does she bring?
She has six years as a licensed clinical social worker and additional experience working with people facing chronic illness, caregiving stress, aging-related concerns, and end-of-life issues.
Where is she based and what are her credentials?
Donna is located in Pennsylvania and holds the credential LCSW as well as LCSW-C, which are listed as her professional credentials.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to provide flexible ways to connect.
How are fees and payment handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions are provided through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What do I need to do to begin working together?
To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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