Donna Jeane Pappas, LCMHC

Donna Jeane Pappas welcomes people who feel stuck during major life shifts. She introduces a calm, practical presence and helps clients sort through what matters now. Her style leans toward coaching and forward movement rather than long looks into the past.

Donna has 32 years of experience as a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC, in North Carolina. She has supported people facing grief, life transitions, health crises, and the ripple effects of caregiving and loss. Midlife concerns such as empty nesting, career change, and questions of purpose are among the issues she commonly addresses.

Sessions focus on clarifying goals and building small, workable steps toward change. She blends client-centered conversation with techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy. Motivational interviewing and narrative approaches are used when they fit the person’s need and goals.

Her work emphasizes practical skills, values-driven choices, and everyday resilience. Clients can expect to identify clear priorities, practice tools between meetings, and track progress in ways that feel manageable.

Donna describes her role as a partner in exploration and action. She aims to create a respectful, nonjudgmental space where people can find more clarity, alignment, and purpose as they move into new life chapters.

Approaches that translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people notice what matters and commit to actions aligned with their values while accepting difficult feelings. It can be useful for midlife questions, grief, and chronic stress. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on a respectful, listening stance where the therapist follows the client’s lead and helps them find their own answers; this supports clarity and self-direction. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks down unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns into concrete steps and practices to try between sessions, which can produce clear progress on anxiety, depression, and coping skills.

Finding the right combination of methods is part of the work together. Donna will collaborate with each person to choose approaches that match their goals, preferences, and life situation. That collaboration includes checking in and adjusting techniques as progress and needs change.

Confirm current session options before booking, as formats are not listed here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, allow for shorter check-ins when schedules demand, and remove travel time so people can use a session as a focused break. It also allows continuity of care when life or location changes, helping clients keep momentum toward their goals.