Karen Crawley-Buckholtz, MD, LCPC, LPC

Karen Crawley-Buckholtz uses practical, evidence-based approaches to help people manage stress and emotion. She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy along with client-centered and mindfulness tools to address anxiety, depression, grief, and relationship concerns. Karen holds an MD and is licensed as an LCPC and LPC in the region and brings two decades of clinical experience to her work.

Her style is straightforward and respectful. She helps people name the problems that feel most urgent and then breaks those problems into manageable steps. Sessions focus on building skills for coping, improving sleep and eating patterns, and strengthening communication around intimacy and relationship challenges.

Karen has particular experience supporting people through trauma and abuse, perinatal and postpartum depression, caregiver stress, and grief related to illness and loss. She also works with clients facing chronic pain, serious illness, and the complicated emotions that follow cancer or caregiving roles.

She uses DBT-informed strategies for emotion regulation and mindfulness practices to reduce reactivity. Psychodynamic ideas inform deeper work about patterns and attachment when that is helpful. Treatment plans are shaped together with each person’s goals and strengths.

Sessions are offered in English and are provided via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Karen practices in Maryland and brings about 20 years of professional experience to her clinical work.

How these approaches translate to online therapy

Karen commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and test small behavior changes that reduce anxiety and improve mood. CBT is practical and goal-oriented, which fits well with video or phone check-ins when homework and tracking are part of care.

She also draws on client-centered therapy, which emphasizes listening and validating each person’s experience. This approach helps build rapport and trust during remote sessions, especially when someone needs a calm space to talk things through.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy techniques are used for emotion regulation and distress tolerance. DBT skills can be taught in short chat or text exchanges and practiced between sessions to manage intense feelings or relationship conflicts.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to choose methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences, and will adjust plans as progress is made.

Online therapy offers flexibility and practical benefits. Video calls allow face-to-face dialogue for skill practice and focused conversation. Phone sessions can fit a break at work or be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging support quick check-ins, brief skill coaching, or ongoing symptom tracking between longer sessions.