Lacey Gaters

Lacey Gaters, LCSW-C welcomes people who are feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure of how to move forward. She speaks directly to goals and barriers and helps clients name what they want to change. Many people contact her about stress, anxiety, anger, parenting challenges, or mood concerns.

Her approach is straightforward and practical. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. She also draws on client-centered methods to listen carefully and adapt sessions to each person's needs. Mindfulness and solution-focused ideas are woven in to support skills people can use between sessions.

Lacey earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland and holds an LCSW-C in Maryland. She has worked in hospitals and outpatient clinics over 11 years. Those settings shaped her ability to work with varied concerns and urgencies.

In sessions she focuses on respect, active listening, and a nonjudgmental tone. She does not tell clients what to do but instead challenges limiting beliefs and helps build confidence and practical tools. Parents and young adults often seek help for behavioral issues, ADHD, mood concerns, or family stress.

Her practice also includes work related to trauma and post-traumatic stress, adoption and foster care, caregiver stress, communication problems, self-harm, and grief. If someone is unsure what would help most, she encourages an open conversation about goals and priorities before deciding on a path forward.

How Lacey’s approaches work well online

Client-centered therapy puts your goals first and involves careful listening and feedback. This approach helps people clarify what matters to them and shape sessions around those priorities.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions. It teaches practical exercises for changing unhelpful thinking and testing new behaviors, which can be practiced between visits.

Trauma-focused therapy addresses the impact of past harm and teaches ways to manage strong reactions. It can help people build safety, learn grounding skills, and slowly work through painful memories at a pace that feels manageable.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, history, and preferences and then recommend strategies to try. That choice is collaborative and may shift as progress is made.

Many people find online sessions easier to fit into busy days. Online work can reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and make scheduling around school or work simpler. Confirm the current session options before booking to know which formats are offered. Licensed professionals can use these methods effectively in live sessions while supporting practical skill-building for everyday life.