Therapists for college students near Durham, NC

Hi. I’m glad you are reaching out for help. Everyone has a unique story. Are you feeling hopeless or stuck in unresolved hurt or an unhealthy relationship? Have your dreams been delayed or dashed? Is anxiety or depression keeping you from being the person you want to be? Hope, healing and health are attainable. I find great joy in joining people in their story and helping them to not just “survive”, but to thrived. I also offer spiritual direction upon request. I hope to connect with you soon. Warmly, Sandy Mahar

Many of the students I work with are bright, capable, and hardworking—but still feel overwhelmed, distracted, anxious, or like they’re constantly falling behind. I specialize in working with college students struggling with ADHD, anxiety, trauma, and relationship stress. Together we focus on understanding how your brain works, improving emotional regulation, building better habits, and reducing shame or self-criticism. My approach is supportive, collaborative, and practical. I integrate CBT, DBT, ACT, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and the Gottman Method for couples. I have over 10 years of experience working with college students and young adults navigating stress, identity, relationships, and life transitions.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

Hi, I’m Dale Karl, a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in North Carolina with more than 20 years of experience helping adults work through anxiety, stress, relationship struggles, self-esteem issues, and concerns around food and body image, including emotional eating, binge eating, and bulimia. I proudly affirm and support clients of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and cultural backgrounds. College and young adulthood can feel overwhelming at times. You may be dealing with pressure to succeed, overthinking, relationship stress, loneliness, burnout, uncertainty about the future, or feeling like you’re not fully yourself anymore. Even people who seem like they’re “doing fine” on the outside can feel anxious, exhausted, or disconnected internally. My approach is warm, down-to-earth, and collaborative. Therapy is a space where you can talk openly without fear of judgment or pressure to have everything figured out. Together, we’ll explore what’s going on beneath the surface, better understand the patterns keeping you stuck, and find practical ways to help life feel more manageable and balanced. Therapy is not about being “broken.” It’s about gaining insight, learning healthier ways of coping, and building a stronger relationship with yourself. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, lost, emotionally drained, or simply unsure where to start, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

I specialize in working with folks with impulsive patterns, anxiety, difficulty communicating, relationship struggles, trouble regulating emotions, executive function challenges, as well as supporting folks through transitions. I love working with neurodivergent (ASD, ADHD, OCD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, or other neurodevelopment differences) folks and their families. My clients tend to be people who don't sit still well. My office is full of puzzles, games and fidgets and I'm happy to walk-and-talk and offer more experiential sessions as well. I have over a decade of specialized clinical experience with neurodivergent young people and their families. I offer an experiential approach that is playful and warm yet direct. I am strength based and solution focused and will cater my approach to the interests and needs of my clients.

Dr. Carmaletta Zandi provides compassionate, comprehensive care for people of all ages, drawing on her expertise to support a wide variety of needs. Her top practice areas include ADHD Evaluation and Therapeutic Care, Depression and Anxiety Management, Gold Years Wellness, Educators Resilience Therapy, and First Responder Support. Dr. Zandi specializes in thorough assessment and personalized treatment for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) across the lifespan, integrating neuroscience with practical strategies to help clients enhance focus, manage impulsivity, and thrive. With a strong commitment to Depression and Anxiety Management, Dr. Zandi offers evidence-based therapies to help clients navigate challenging emotions, reduce symptoms, and build resilience. Her approach is empathetic and collaborative, empowering individuals to achieve greater emotional well-being and stability. Through her Gold Years Wellness program, Dr. Zandi supports older adults with a focus on cognitive health, emotional balance, and smooth life transitions, enabling seniors to enjoy vitality and fulfillment in their golden years. She also provides Educators Resilience Therapy, tailored to help teachers and school staff strengthen their mental health, manage stress, and boost emotional regulation—so they can sustain their passion for education. Recognizing the unique pressures faced by those in emergency services, Dr. Zandi delivers First Responder Support for law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics, and other front-line personnel. She offers practical tools and therapeutic strategies to address occupational stress, trauma, and burnout, fostering resilience and overall well-being. Dr. Zandi is dedicated to working collaboratively with clients—whether children, adults, or seniors—addressing ADHD, depression, anxiety, trauma, life transitions, emotional regulation, and the mental health needs of caregivers, educators, and first responders. Her client-centered, evidence-based approach ensures each individual is supported, heard, and empowered to achieve lasting well-being and personal growth.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

Therapy is not a luxury, it’s a courageous step toward wellness. Are you a college student of color feeling the weight of expectations on your shoulders? Juggling classes, work, caregiving, or family responsibilities? Maybe you're navigating a painful breakup or divorce, feeling isolated, or burned out from always being the strong one for everyone else. You’re not alone and you don’t have to carry it all by yourself. Whether you're a first-gen student trying to find your footing, returning to school after years away, balancing school with parenting, or simply stuck in a cycle of stress, anxiety, or emotional pain, your experiences matter. Your healing matters. Therapy can be a powerful space to breathe, process, and begin again. You deserve support that sees and honors all parts of your journey. Take the first step. You’re worth it.

As a PMHNP, my role focuses on the comprehensive assessment, diagnosis, and management of mental health conditions. I prescribe medications, provide brief psychotherapy, and offer holistic care to those students dealing with mental health challenges. I work closely with patients to understand their symptoms, identify treatment options, and ensure their psychiatric needs are met through both pharmacological and therapeutic interventions, to include genetic testing and ADHD computer based testing. I have extensive experience working with college students to help manage the anxiety, stress, depression and all the emotions that may come with being a young adult student.

Hey and Welcome! As a therapist, my goal is to create an emotionally safe space, that is intersectional and inclusive, to pursue personal healing and self-discovery. Through our work, we will identify how the experiences you have had in your life have impacted who you are in this world and how you relate to others. We will explore the emotional, mental, and systemic barriers that get in the way of evolving into the person you'd ideally like to be, while simultaneously developing a deep respect and reverence for the various versions of you over time that were forced to be resilient through difficult and challenging circumstances. I support clients who are seeking coping tools to create and maintain a sense of emotional stability. My clients are often pursuing healing from trauma, whether it be attachment based childhood trauma or a specific and recent traumatic experience. I specialize in working with LGBTQIA+ folx, women, and various issues that impact folx of the global majority. Therapy invites us to take up space, prioritize caring for ourselves, and create a life that feels worth living. Seeking support is not an easy decision and the fact you've made it this far is significant. If you'd like to learn more about me, the work I do, and my approach to therapy, please reach out to schedule a consultation appointment.

Drawing from 10+ years of clinical experience, I use a solution-focused approach to teach skills to overcome worry, depression, anger, stress, guilt, low self-esteem, sleep issues, relationship struggles, and parenting challenges. My clients and I work on improving their wellness and their lives by exploring helpful solutions, perspectives, and habits.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

How can therapy with us help you shine? At Solace Counseling & Consulting, we believe in your inherent worth and value, no matter how you show up. We’re dedicated to helping you find comfort in whatever it is you’re going through and master the skills to face distress that may arise in your life. Our group of thoroughly trained clinicians are passionate about working with women and individuals who come from diverse backgrounds, are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, or are suffering from mental illness to provide an accepting space without judgement or stigma. We want you to feel comfortable enough to come to us for help breaking through negative thinking patterns, learning how to set healthy boundaries, and bringing joy back into your life. Long story short, we’re here to help you reclaim your magic.

Anxiety, stress, and sadness are a normal part of life. At times these feelings can take over and inhabit multiple area's of life in a profoundly negative way. As a therapist, I offer an empathetic, non-judgmental, supportive, and encouraging space for emerging and young adults to explore area's of life that feel off. I work with my clients to understand the unique experiences brought to counseling. Treating someone as a person, not a diagnosis that needs to be fixed is essential in healing.

Welcome to Rising Phoenix Counseling Services! We work with students, new parents, couples, military families and folks struggling with communication or mood problems via Telehealth. Therapy includes addressing your need for preventative, whole-person care as well as relationship healing if you're coming for couples' counseling. Laila Daniel, Owner and Clinician, is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) in Fayetteville, NC- home to Ft Bragg. Her passion has been working with military couples and families since 2001. She began as an educator then began specializing in helping individuals adjust to military life in 2003. Laila worked as an intern and volunteer at the Colorado Springs Vet Center for 3 years. Laila also worked as a School Counselor from 2004-2009 in CO and NC. She began working in private practice in 2008. Laila was a Substance Abuse Counselor at the Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) in Stuttgart, Germany from 2012-2013. She was a Military Family Life Counselor (MFLC) from 2014-2021. Laila utilizes an eclectic approach when helping others. She uses Cognitive Emotional Behavioral Therapy, Reality Therapy, Existential Therapy and completed Level 3 Practicum Training In Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Laila is a Gottman Seven Principals Leader and Gottman Bringing Baby Home Program Educator. She completed additional trainings for Couples & Addiction Recovery and Treating Affairs & Trauma with The Gottman Institute. Laila completed Level I Practicum Training with The William Glasser Institute She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas too. Other credentials are : Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC), Certified Addiction and Drug Counselor (CADC), Board Certified Telemental Health Provider (BC-TMH) and Certified Laughter Yoga Instructor.

"You deserve the love you so freely give to others.” – Alexandra Elle My practice is centered around you as a “whole person,” not just as a collection of diagnoses. As a therapist I seek to offer a full range of therapeutic services using theory and evidence-based practice, while also simply sitting in your challenging spaces with you, providing a comforting, nurturing, judgement-free environment, and pushing you to break through and progress in your mental health journey. I believe that taking care of yourself is the single most important endeavor you can undertake in your life, and I hope to be able to assist you in any way I can as you begin looking inward. Much like life, treatment is everchanging. Each session we will work together to develop a treatment regimen that best suits your needs both in the moment and as you move forward. We will complete an initial assessment to help me better understand your basic needs. I’ll gather information from you about your background, history, family dynamics, lifestyle, culture, socioeconomic status, and current symptoms. Then, we will have a few rapport-building sessions to get to know one another as I continue assessing your needs. As we progress, we will begin developing goals for your treatment plan centered around decreasing your symptomology and bringing balance back to your life. I will also often present other resources in our community that I believe can eliminate some of the burdens you face. Each session I will use the tools, skills, and knowledge I possess to support you, push you, and guide you through what you’re facing. I believe as a therapist it is my job to find a balance between comforting you and validating your feelings, while also challenging you and often telling you things you may not be thrilled to hear. It is my goal to make sure you feel safe and secure in treatment in addition to presenting you with alternate ways of thinking, gently coaching you through correcting any harmful behaviors, and changing your perspectives on how you perceive your reality. My process is to get to know you on an individual level, gain your trust, provide a safe and validating space for you to release your emotions, and then walk alongside you as you learn to advance in your mental health.

I specialize in overthinking, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome. Clients who come to me often struggle with feeling “enough.". They often feel an imbalance in their lives and are quick to sacrifice self-care for others or in the face of stress. They feel their emotions strongly and sometimes feel controlled by them, leaving them often emotionally and physically drained. My clients are ready to create change in their lives and feel more peace of mind.

I provide individual and family therapy to adolescents & young adults (ages 13-30). I treat anxiety, depression, ADHD, anger, family conflict, mild substance use disorders, and oppositional defiant disorder. I have found tremendous success in working with resistant clients and the resulting family conflicts.

Life can be tough and there is so much that isn't under our control. If you find yourself overwhelmed with overthinking, getting stuck in thought spirals, or coping with lingering feelings of restlessness or anxiety, therapy can help. I specialize in the treatment of OCD and other anxiety disorders and treat depression, trauma and adjustment issues. I utilize a collaborative person-centered perspective that recognizes your expertise in your life. I will work with you to develop a plan including exposure (ERP), mindfulness, cognitive and behavioral (CBT) and other techniques to achieve your therapy goals.

Cat Salemi (they/them) is a licensed clinical mental health counselor associate (LCMHCA) who provides counseling services to adults (18+) in North Carolina via telehealth. As an autistic therapist & ADHDer, Cat is especially passionate about helping other neurodivergent folks, and uses a non-pathologizing and neurodiversity-based approach. Cat is experienced in treating clients struggling with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, executive dysfunction, sensory sensitivities, and OCD, among other concerns. Cat identifies as nonbinary and is a proud part of the LGBTQIA+ community. They are kink-affirming, polyamorous-allied, use a Health At Every Size (HAES) informed approach, and are committed to anti-racist practice.