Brian McClinton has more than 20 years of experience helping individuals and families create meaningful, lasting change. His background includes work as an Exceptional Education teacher specializing in emotional and behavioral needs, residential and group-home services, community-based mental health programs, and outpatient counseling.

​

In 2013, Brian founded Virginia Counseling Associates with a focus on helping individuals, couples, and families navigate difficult seasons of life while identifying solutions that reflect their unique needs, relationships, and experiences.

​

Who I Work With

I work with individuals, couples, and families who may be navigating relationship difficulties, major life transitions, family conflict, emotional challenges, or the effects of difficult past experiences.

I particularly enjoy helping couples and families better understand one another, recognize the patterns affecting their relationships, and find healthier ways to communicate and reconnect.

​

Whether you are trying to create a new normal after a significant loss or transition, strengthen an important relationship, or simply better understand where you are in life, my goal is to meet you where you are and help you determine what meaningful change looks like for you.

​

Areas I Help With

I help clients work through concerns including:

• Couples and relationship difficulties

• Marriage and premarital concerns

• Family conflict

• Life transitions

• Trauma and difficult life experiences

• Anxiety and stress

• Parenting and family relationships

• Communication difficulties

• Self-esteem and personal growth

• Grief, loss, and adjustment

• Men's concerns

• Building emotional resilience

I often work with clients who recognize that something in their life or relationships needs to change but may not yet know exactly what that change should look like.

​

My Approach to Counseling

My approach is trauma-informed, systemic, collaborative, and practical.

Being systemically trained means I do not look only at an individual symptom or problem. I consider how relationships, family experiences, life circumstances, past experiences, beliefs, and patterns of interaction may all influence what is happening today.

​

Depending on the needs of the client, my work may incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Family Systems approaches, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Gottman-informed work, Narrative Therapy, and Solution-Focused strategies.

​

I believe counseling should help clients better understand both what is happening and why, while also developing practical ways to respond differently.

​

What You Can Expect Working With Me

You can expect therapy to be conversational, thoughtful, and focused on the concerns that matter most to you. I believe there is value in slowing things down enough to understand the emotional and relational patterns that may be influencing your choices, relationships, and reactions. At the same time, counseling should eventually help you move toward solutions.

​

My role is not to tell you how to live your life. It is to listen carefully, ask meaningful questions, provide clinical perspective, and help you identify strengths and possibilities that may be difficult to see when you are in the middle of a challenging situation.

​

Sometimes that work involves healing. Sometimes it involves learning. Sometimes it involves accepting what cannot be changed while becoming more intentional about what can.

Ultimately, my goal is to help you develop the insight, resilience, and tools needed to create meaningful change that extends beyond the counseling room.

​

Telehealth & In-Person Availability

I offer both telehealth and in-person counseling through Virginia Counseling Associates. My current Psychology Today profile likewise lists both virtual and in-person availability. 

Depending on your needs and availability, we can determine which format provides the best environment for the work you would like to accomplish.

​

 

Life rarely moves in a straight line. Relationships change, families encounter difficult seasons, unexpected events happen, and sometimes we find ourselves at a point where the way we have always handled things is no longer working.

You do not need to have everything figured out before beginning counseling.

If you are ready to better understand what is happening, strengthen important relationships, or begin creating a healthier path forward, I would welcome the opportunity to work with you.

​

Contact Virginia Counseling Associates to request an appointment with Brian McClinton.