Laronda Barker, LCSW-C

Laronda Barker is a licensed clinical social worker in Maryland with five years of experience helping people make practical changes in their daily lives. She describes therapy as a place to rethink unhelpful thought patterns and find clearer ways forward. Her style is warm and approachable, and she aims to reduce judgment so people can speak openly about what’s hard.

Laronda draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, empowerment-oriented work, and Motivational Interviewing to guide sessions. She uses these methods to help clients notice and change thoughts that keep them stuck, build motivation for change, and strengthen personal agency. Sessions focus on concrete steps people can try between meetings.

Her practice addresses stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship and family concerns. Laronda also helps with caregiver stress, attachment and abandonment concerns, communication problems, divorce and separation, and life transitions like pregnancy and childbirth. She works with issues such as guilt, shame, isolation, money stress, workplace strain, and questions about life purpose and self-love.

Laronda speaks English and works with adults in Maryland. She aims to create a culturally aware space where people of different backgrounds feel seen. For those juggling caregiving roles, she offers a practical, straightforward approach that centers day-to-day coping and realistic problem solving.

To begin, people use the site's Start Therapy button to complete a brief matching questionnaire and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability. The subscription model for sessions can be canceled at any time.

Approaches that guide online work and practical benefits

Laronda uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and change thought patterns that feed stress and anxiety; sessions often include simple experiments and at-home exercises to test new ways of thinking. She also draws on Motivational Interviewing to build motivation for change by exploring personal values and small steps that feel manageable. Empowerment-oriented work emphasizes strengths and practical decision-making to help people regain a sense of control when life feels overwhelming.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist works together with each person to match techniques to their goals, preferences, and daily demands. That means approaches can shift over time as needs change, and Laronda will talk through options and adjust plans based on what helps most.

If you are considering online therapy, confirm the available session formats before booking since the profile does not list them. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. Phone sessions can be useful when video would require more bandwidth, and video can help keep nonverbal cues in view; Laronda will discuss which format best supports your needs when you schedule.