Donald McRae

Donald McRae is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) practicing in North Carolina. He brings 25 years of experience helping people cope with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, relationship strain, grief, sleep problems, and career concerns. He works in straightforward, practical ways and invites people who are ready to make changes to talk through what matters most to them.

He frames work around clear goals and simple skills. Sessions often focus on identifying unhelpful thinking, learning new coping tools, and practicing steps that fit daily life. He uses approaches that emphasize present-moment awareness and values-guided action, and he draws on strategies that build emotional regulation and motivation.

McRae has long experience in community mental health, military settings, and nonprofit agencies. That background informs a flexible, no-nonsense style aimed at getting real results people can use outside sessions. He talks plainly about progress and setbacks and helps people break larger problems into manageable steps.

People who reach out can expect a collaborative relationship. He listens for strengths, clarifies what a client wants to change, and tailors sessions to those goals. He also brings experience with caregiving stress, aging issues, workplace concerns, and trauma-related problems when those areas arise.

Sessions emphasize practical practice between meetings. He encourages skill-building, short experiments, and steady review of what works. That approach helps people move forward on issues like self-esteem, parenting strain, intimacy-related worries, and coping with life changes.

How his approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on clarifying personal values and taking steps that move a person toward them. It helps with anxiety, depression, career decisions, and coping with life changes by shifting attention to meaningful action. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) teaches concrete skills to notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It is often used for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and managing mood swings. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and improved communication. It can be useful when strong emotions, relationship conflict, or impulsive behavior are creating problems.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped in the past. Together the client and therapist decide which strategies to try and adjust them as progress is tracked.

The biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit meetings into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when a quick review is needed, and reduce travel time. They also let people practice skills in real-life settings and follow up on homework between sessions. Licensed professionals can adapt ACT, CBT, and DBT techniques to online conversations and exercises to keep therapy focused and practical.