About Iris
Iris Barahona is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) who helps people manage stress and anxiety. She creates a calm space where clients feel heard and respected. Iris focuses on practical steps people can take to feel better day to day and to handle life’s pressures more clearly.
She approaches therapy as a team effort. Sessions are collaborative and aimed at identifying personal goals and small, realistic changes. Iris uses an understandable mix of techniques to address worry, low mood, relationship strain, and issues with addiction or coping with change.
Background and approach
Her work centers on improving self-esteem, reducing unhelpful thoughts, and finding healthier patterns in relationships. She also incorporates mindfulness to help people notice thought and body reactions in the moment. Motivational interviewing helps when someone is weighing change or wanting to strengthen their commitment to new habits.
Iris has ten years of clinical experience in mental health and substance use settings in the District of Columbia. She has supported adults through crises and the challenges of recovery and relapse prevention. That background informs practical strategies she brings into sessions.
Outside of work she enjoys sewing, spending time with family and friends, and being outdoors when weather allows. Those simple activities help her manage stress and model ways people can build small sources of joy.
How her approaches work in online sessions
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and understanding each person’s priorities. The therapist follows the client’s lead, asks open questions, and helps people clarify goals and values so they can choose next steps.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions link together. In online sessions this means identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and practicing small behavioral changes between meetings to reduce anxiety and improve mood.
Mindfulness-based work teaches simple attention practices to notice sensations and thoughts without getting swept away by them. This can help with stress, rumination, and staying calm when emotions rise.
Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. She will collaborate with clients to test techniques, adjust plans, and pick methods that fit their goals, pace, and preferences.
Online options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video allows face-to-face interaction for skill teaching, phone can be easier on bandwidth or for shorter check-ins, and chat or messaging support quick reflections or ongoing check-ins between meetings. These options make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into a busy life.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Depression
Also listed
- Addictions
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Family conflicts
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- District of Columbia
- Languages
- English
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