Kumi Pledger, MD, LCPC

Kumi Pledger is a therapist based in Maryland with ten years of clinical experience. She holds an MD and is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, and she focuses on helping people reduce worry, sleep better, and regain enjoyment in daily life.

She takes a compassionate, respectful approach that values each person’s strengths. Sessions center on understanding what’s happening now and building small, practical steps toward change. Kumi draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address unhelpful thinking and behaviors in a clear, work-focused way.

Her practice covers a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, sleep problems, addictions, and relationship and intimacy-related issues. She also supports people facing caregiving stress, attachment and abandonment issues, grief, and challenges tied to gender identity and sexuality.

Kumi uses a mix of approaches to fit the person in front of her. That can mean teaching coping skills from DBT for emotional regulation, exploring attachment patterns to improve relationships, or using client-centered listening to help someone find their own answers. She aims to make therapy collaborative and understandable.

Sessions can involve mindfulness exercises, guided imagery, or structured skill work depending on what a person needs. Kumi works with English and Japanese speakers and welcomes people from outside the U.S. to connect by video, phone, chat, or text.

Approach-focused care delivered online

Kumi often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and change patterns that keep problems going. CBT is goal-oriented and works well for anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and many everyday struggles.

She also uses Attachment-Based Therapy to look at how early relationship patterns affect current connections. This approach helps when attachment or abandonment issues create conflict or distance in relationships. In sessions she pairs that work with client-centered listening so people feel heard while they try new ways of relating.

Choosing the right approach is collaborative. Kumi will talk with clients about goals, try a few methods, and adjust based on what works. She helps people learn skills, practice them between sessions, and track small improvements over time.

Online care offers flexibility for different schedules and needs. Video calls let people use visual cues for deeper relationship work, phone sessions can fit a quick check-in or lower bandwidth, and chat or text messaging supports brief check-ins or tracking between sessions. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, parenting, or travel.