Laurie Jo McDonnell, LMFT
Florida · 25 years in practice
Laurie Jo McDonnell is a Florida-licensed marriage and family therapist with 25 years of experience.
License and registration
- LMFT, Florida
- MT2063 · expires March 2027
- NPI
- 1245484864 · national provider identifier
- Years in practice
- 25
- Languages
- English
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check the license with the issuing state board, and the NPI with the national registry.
About Laurie
Laurie Jo McDonnell is a Florida-licensed marriage and family therapist with 25 years of experience. She focuses on helping people who are stressed, anxious, grieving, or dealing with depression. Parents and adults who are tangled in family or relationship conflict will find practical, down-to-earth support.
Laurie emphasizes strengths and helps clients take steady steps forward. Laurie sees clients as the experts in their own lives. She uses straightforward conversation to clarify problems and identify small changes that make daily life easier.
Background and approach
Sessions often focus on improving communication, managing strong emotions, and finding healthier patterns in relationships. Her background includes long-term work with family concerns, caregiving stress, chronic illness, and life transitions such as divorce and bereavement. That experience shapes a calm approach that values what already works for each person.
Laurie draws from several therapy methods to match the work to the client's needs. In session she blends systemic thinking with tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy. This mix helps people notice patterns, change difficult behaviors, and clarify what matters most.
The therapist also uses client-centered and emotionally focused ideas to strengthen emotional understanding. Laurie works by listening closely, offering practical strategies, and setting realistic goals together. She supports people facing abandonment issues, attachment concerns, codependency, blended family challenges, and caregiver strain.
Her aim is steady progress that fits each person's life and priorities.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Laurie lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Depression
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Dependent personality
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Laurie names
- Systemic Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Gottman Method
- Narrative Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.
Online support
Approaches that guide online sessions
Laurie blends Systemic Therapy with acceptance-based and client-centered work to guide online sessions. Systemic Therapy looks at how relationships and patterns shape problems and helps people shift those interaction cycles to reduce conflict and stress. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on noticing thoughts and values so people can act toward what matters even with uncomfortable feelings. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes respectful listening and helping clients find their own solutions through a trusting relationship.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Laurie will talk with each person about their goals and preferences and then suggest methods that match those needs. That collaborative process helps tailor sessions so they feel relevant and doable.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different lifestyles. Video calls let the therapist and client see nonverbal cues, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited, and messaging is useful for brief check-ins or when scheduling is tight. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent while fitting it into a busy life.
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Questions people ask
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She helps people with stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and relationship or family conflicts. Additional focus areas include caregiving stress, chronic illness, codependency, and issues around attachment and abandonment.
What is her therapeutic style like?
She uses a collaborative, practical style that emphasizes the client's strengths. Sessions focus on clear steps, improved communication, and emotional understanding.
How long has she been practicing?
She has 25 years of professional experience working with adults on family and relationship concerns, grief, and mood issues.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is a licensed marriage and family therapist - LMFT - practicing in Florida.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the U.S. work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted; sessions are provided to clients in the licensed region.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How does cost and scheduling work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and uses a subscription that can be canceled at any time. To start, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule based on the therapist's availability.
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