- Stress and anxiety
- Trauma and addictions
- Parenting and caregiving
About Donna
Donna Ray is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in New Jersey with 35 years of clinical experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and addictions. She also supports people coping with relationship and intimacy concerns, grief, parenting strain, and questions about life purpose.
Her style draws on client-centered work and evidence-based techniques. Sessions focus on practical steps and clearer coping skills. Conversations aim to identify how thoughts and behaviors interact, and what can be changed in daily life.
Donna uses attachment-based ideas to look at how past relationships affect current patterns. She also uses cognitive behavioral strategies to shift unhelpful thinking. Dialectical behavior strategies and motivational interviewing help with strong emotions and readiness for change.
Across years in practice she has treated mood disorders, bipolar presentations, and disruptive mood challenges. She has worked with people affected by trauma, dissociation, domestic violence, and substance use concerns. Additional experience includes adoption and foster care, aging and caregiver stress, autism spectrum issues, and cancer-related emotional needs.
Sessions are conversational and practical. Clients can expect to talk through immediate concerns, build emotion regulation skills, and try small experiments between sessions. The focus is on what matters now and what steps feel doable next.
How her approaches translate to online work
Donna combines client-centered methods with cognitive behavioral and attachment-based approaches. Client-centered work means sessions focus on what the person brings and what they want to address. Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact and teaches practical strategies to change patterns. Attachment-based work examines how early and past relationships shape current responses and helps people name and adjust those patterns.Finding the right approach is part of the work. She will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That decision can change as problems shift, and she checks in regularly to see what is helping and what should be adjusted.
Confirm specific session formats before booking, as current session types are not detailed here. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter or longer check-ins when needed. They also allow people to use phone or lower-bandwidth options when video is difficult. The focus is on practical ways to make sessions usable within everyday life, and on applying CBT, DBT skills, and attachment insights to real-world situations.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
35+ years
Listed in
New Jersey, New York
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she work with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, parenting stress, grief, ADHD, and questions about life purpose.
How would she describe her therapeutic approach?
She combines client-centered listening with practical methods. She uses attachment-based ideas, CBT, DBT skills, and motivational interviewing to address emotions and behavior.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She brings 35 years of experience working with adults across mood, trauma, addiction, and caregiving concerns.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with credentials as NY LCSW and NJ LCSW and she practices in New Jersey.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the United States work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions billed and what does it cost?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin if I want to meet with her?
Begin by selecting the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the crisis numbers.