About Allison
Dr. Allison Bethea is a clinical psychologist with an MD and two decades of practice in Maryland. She began studying psychology in high school and completed her doctorate in clinical psychology in 1992.
Her work centers on building a collaborative relationship and using a person’s strengths as a foundation for change. She keeps therapy straightforward and practical. Dr.
Bethea uses cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful thoughts and habits. She blends mindfulness to help people manage stress and stay grounded.
Background and approach
Solution-focused ideas help set clear, manageable goals in short steps. Dr. Bethea often addresses anxiety, stress, panic, and phobias alongside mood concerns like depression and bipolar symptoms.
She also helps people dealing with grief, anger, sleep problems, and the impact of chronic illness. Her background includes work with attention differences such as ADHD and with issues around gender identity and LGBT concerns. Her practice pays attention to how physical health and brain function affect mental well-being.
That perspective guides treatment choices and makes therapy feel more tailored to each person’s circumstances. Dr. Bethea has experience supporting parents of children with special needs and people with visual impairment.
Sessions aim to be collaborative and goal-oriented. People can expect clear steps, homework when useful, and techniques that can be practiced between sessions. She frames progress in small, achievable changes rather than quick fixes.
How her approaches work in online therapy
Dr. Bethea uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help people spot and change thought patterns and behaviors that feed anxiety, panic, phobias, and low mood. CBT sessions often involve setting goals, practicing skills, and using homework between meetings to build new habits.She also incorporates mindfulness practices to teach breathing, body awareness, and grounding methods that reduce stress and improve focus. Mindfulness exercises can be short and easily practiced between sessions to help with sleep, anger, and emotional regulation.
Finding the right approach is a team effort. She works with clients to choose which methods fit their goals, preferences, and daily life. That collaborative process means techniques can be adjusted over time based on what helps most.
Online formats offer practical benefits. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction for deeper work and demonstrations. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can fit a busy schedule. Live chat and text messaging are useful for brief check-ins, coaching, and follow-up between sessions. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, caregiving, or health needs.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Parenting issues
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Impulsivity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Visually impaired
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- Maryland
- Languages
- English
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