Desiree Gharakhanian, LCSW-C

Desiree Gharakhanian is a Licensed Certified Social Worker-Clinical in Maryland who helps people manage stress, anxiety, anger, low self-esteem, and depression. She supports those facing life transitions, grief, relationship strain, and challenges with motivation and confidence. Desiree aims to create a calm, nonjudgmental space where people can speak openly and begin to feel steadier.

Her style is straightforward and collaborative. She works side by side with clients to identify practical steps they can try between sessions. Conversations often focus on what’s happening now, what resources a person already has, and small changes that build momentum.

Desiree brings six years of experience in social work to her practice. That background informs her focus on real-world coping skills and everyday problem solving. She pays attention to how life circumstances shape feelings and behavior, especially around purpose, isolation, and women’s issues.

She also attends to concerns common for people with service and civilian life experiences, including military-related stress, post-traumatic symptoms, and veteran and armed forces issues. Sessions can address communication problems, guilt and shame, forgiveness, and loneliness as part of broader healing.

People who choose Desiree can expect a respectful, steady approach that emphasizes clear goals and doable strategies. To start, she asks a few questions about current concerns and priorities, then together they map a plan for follow-up and practice between sessions.

How evidence-based techniques can work online

Desiree uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on practical change and coping. One common approach emphasizes building concrete coping skills for stress, anxiety, and anger - practicing breathing, grounding, task planning, and short behavioral experiments to test new ways of responding. Another approach centers on working through difficult emotions like grief, guilt, and shame by naming feelings, tracking what triggers them, and trying small perspective shifts or written exercises to reduce their intensity.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will ask about current needs, what has or hasn’t worked before, and what goals feel most important. Together they’ll try methods that match the client’s goals and adjust the plan as progress is made.

If you want online sessions, confirm the current session options before booking since formats were not specified in the biography. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy day, avoid travel time, and hold shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. It also allows continued contact while people manage life transitions or relocation, and therapists can suggest homework and real-world practice that fits each person’s daily routine.