Laurie Jo McDonnell, LMFT

Laurie Jo McDonnell is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, and depression. She invites clients to bring their real-life concerns into the room and works with them to find manageable steps forward. Laurie values each person’s strengths and life story when building a plan for change.

With 25 years of professional experience, Laurie draws on several therapeutic approaches to match what a person needs in the moment. She uses tools from cognitive behavioral work to address unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. She also incorporates acceptance and commitment ideas to help people live by their values despite pain or loss.

Laurie emphasizes a client-centered stance, listening first and following the client’s lead. For relationship difficulties she uses emotionally-focused ideas and elements of the Gottman Method to improve communication and rebuild connection. Sessions are conversational and practical, focused on what people can do between meetings.

She has particular experience supporting people dealing with chronic illness, caregiving stress, cancer-related challenges, and aging concerns. Laurie also helps with issues that often come from family history, such as attachment problems, codependency, and blended family dynamics.

Her practice is based in Florida, and she conducts work in English. Laurie encourages anyone wondering about therapy to take the first step and complete the short matching questionnaire to begin the process.

Approaches you can expect during online therapy

Laurie uses a mix of focused methods to help people cope and move forward. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, emphasizes noticing difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them while taking small actions that match personal values; it can help with chronic illness, grief, and ongoing worry. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact and offers practical techniques to change patterns that fuel anxiety or low mood.

She also works from a client-centered stance, which means the therapist listens deeply and follows the client’s priorities. Finding the right approach is a collaborative process, and she will help you decide which methods fit your goals and life situation. Together you can try tools and adjust the plan over time based on what helps.

If you are considering online sessions, confirm the current session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins between appointments, and let people participate when attending in-person visits would be difficult. Licensed professionals can adapt ACT and CBT techniques to work well in remote sessions, helping clients practice skills and track progress between meetings.