Therapist in Virginia
I'm a licensed therapist offering virtual sessions to clients throughout Virginia.
Much of my practice is built around high-functioning adults in the Northern Virginia orbit — people in Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, and the surrounding suburbs who work in or around the federal government, contracting, law, consulting, and tech. Capable, accomplished people who are managing a great deal from the outside and are nonetheless stuck on something they can't think their way out of alone.
I know this region
I practiced for years in Washington, D.C. — from 2013 to 2020 — right at the center of the DMV. In that work, my clients were never only from the District. Northern Virginia is part of the same integrated world, and I regularly saw people who lived in Arlington or Alexandria and commuted across the river, or who worked in D.C. and drove home to Fairfax. I know that reverse-commuter life, and the particular texture of the NoVA professional class: government-adjacent, security-cleared, contract-driven, and often carrying a quiet pressure that the résumé never shows.
Northern Virginia has its own version of D.C.'s intensity — a little more corporate, a little more suburban, but shaped by the same forces: proximity to power, high stakes, and a culture where appearing composed is part of the job. I understand that environment because I worked at the heart of it for the better part of a decade, and I still see clients across the region today.
You won't have to explain the world you operate in. I already know it.
What brings Virginia clients to therapy
The pressures I see most often across Northern Virginia:
A career that defines you more than you'd like. When your clearance, your contract, or your agency is the center of your identity, questioning any of it feels destabilizing in a way that's hard to say out loud.
Achievement that stopped satisfying. The senior role, the promotion, the house in a good school district. You got there, and the payoff you expected didn't fully land.
Relationships strained by the grind. Long hours, commutes, travel, and the slow drift that turns a partner into a logistics coordinator.
Anxiety running underneath. Often long-standing and unnamed — trouble sleeping, an always-on vigilance, a hum that only quiets on vacation.
Transition. Contracts end, clearances lapse, reorganizations happen. The Virginia professional economy has a churn that lands on people personally.
"I really feel that Matt helped me understand the roots of my issues and improve my mental health.."
— Former Client
How I work
I take an eclectic, evidence-based approach — matching the method to the person rather than running everyone through the same protocol. Depending on what you're working on, that may include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety, rumination, and unhelpful thought patterns
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for values clarification and psychological flexibility
Internal Family Systems (IFS) for internal conflict and self-criticism
Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) for accessing what's underneath
Psychodynamic work for long-standing relational patterns
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD
Positive psychology for meaning, purpose, and strengths — I hold a master's in this specifically
I'm known for being direct. Clients tell me they appreciate that I'll say what I actually think rather than nodding.
What I help with
Anxiety & Stress— practical tools to quiet the noise and feel more in control
Depression & Burnout — support for low mood, fatigue, and finding your way back
Career & Identity— clarity when work feels stuck or unfulfilling
Life Transitions — steadier footing through change
Relationships — individual work on patterns that keep repeating
Men's Therapy — stress, self-doubt, and the pressure to hold it together
OCD Treatment — evidence-based care for intrusive thoughts
Sessions
All Virginia sessions are virtual, conducted over VSee, a HIPAA-compliant secure video platform. You'll need a private space and a reliable connection.
A 60-minute intake to start, then 50-minute sessions weekly or biweekly. Daytime and evening hours available, with evenings limited. In-person availability is daytime and evening on weekdays; I don't hold in-person hours on Saturdays, though Saturday virtual sessions are sometimes available.
For virtual sessions, you need to be physically located in New Jersey — or another jurisdiction where I'm licensed — at the time of the session.
Credentials and licensure
I'm Matt Sosnowsky, LCSW, MAPP. I hold two graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania — a Master of Social Work and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology — and have over 15 years of clinical experience across agency, private practice, and digital health settings.
Virginia license #0904013421. Pennsylvania license #CW021603.
My work has been featured in The New York Times, Vox, SELF, VeryWell Mind, HuffPost, Oprah Daily, and Condé Nast Traveler. See media coverage.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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No — my office is in Philadelphia, and I see Virginia clients virtually. But Virginia isn't unfamiliar to me. I practiced in Washington, D.C. for years and regularly worked with clients from across Northern Virginia. I know the region and the pressures particular to it.
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I'm an out-of-network provider. I don't bill insurance directly, but many clients receive partial reimbursement through out-of-network benefits, and I provide a monthly superbill for submission. My out-of-network explainer covers how to check your benefits before you commit.
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For a virtual session you need to be physically located in Virginia (or another state where I'm licensed) at the time of the session.
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I'm also licensed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Washington State. If you'll be somewhere else, we'll plan around it.
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Email, call, text or message us. From there, we'll schedule a free 30-minute video consultation. The consult is conversational — you'll have a chance to share what's going on, ask questions, and get a feel for how I work. If it seems like a good fit, we'll schedule your first full session from there.
Getting started is simple
Most people begin with a free 30-minute video consultation. It's an informal conversation — what's going on, what you're hoping for, and whether we're a good fit. No pressure.
If we move forward, the first session is a 60-minute intake. After that we typically meet for 50-minute sessions weekly or every other week.