Laurie Jo McDonnell, LMFT

Laurie Jo McDonnell is a Florida licensed marriage and family therapist with 25 years of experience. She focuses on helping people who are overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, grief, relationship troubles, family conflict, and depression. Her approach starts by listening and by treating each person as the expert on their own life.

She values a straightforward, respectful partnership. Sessions are built around what a person wants to change and what already works for them. Laurie Jo helps clients name goals, notice patterns, and try small, practical steps between sessions to test what helps.

Her work draws on several evidence-informed approaches including acceptance and commitment ideas, cognitive-behavioral techniques, and client-centered listening. She also uses emotion-focused methods and relationship tools from the Gottman method to address couples and communication problems when relevant to an individual's concerns.

Laurie Jo often meets people dealing with caregiver stress, cancer-related worries, chronic illness or pain, and aging and geriatric issues. She also supports those managing attachment concerns, abandonment wounds, codependency, and family of origin problems. Her style is calm, direct, and aimed at helping people rediscover options when things feel stuck.

Starting therapy with her begins with a short match process and scheduling. She encourages people to take a single small step forward and will work with each person at their own pace.

Therapeutic approaches and how they translate online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose actions that fit their values. It is useful for anxiety, depression, and when life changes feel overwhelming. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying patterns of thought and behavior that keep problems going, and then testing small changes to break those cycles. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) centers on the role of emotion in close relationships and can help people understand and shift patterns that cause repeated conflict.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't worked before. Together they will try methods that make sense for the concerns at hand and adjust the plan as needed.

If you are considering online therapy with this clinician, please confirm the available session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, allow shorter check-ins when schedules demand, and let people attend without traveling. It can also let a person focus on what they want to work on from their usual routine while still using ACT, CBT, or EFT strategies in sessions.