Dr. Lisa Kruger, Therapist in Alexandria, VA, smiling with long, wavy, reddish-brown hair wearing a white top, outdoors with blurred green background.

Meet Dr. Lisa, PhD, LPC

Therapy that's compassionate enough to support you—and direct enough to create real change.

For more than 20 years, I’ve helped clients move beyond surface-level coping, understand what’s driving their struggles, and make changes that extend beyond the therapy room.

Based in Alexandria, VA and online throughout Virginia and DC.

Schedule a consultation

Holding it together gets you through the day. It doesn’t change what’s wearing you down.

When you’re constantly running on fumes, even the basics can feel overwhelming. Routines slip, relationships feel strained, and taking care of yourself falls to the bottom of the list.

After 20+ years as a therapist, I've learned that understanding why you feel a certain way isn’t always enough to change it. It's about understanding the patterns that keep showing up and learning how to respond differently.

Therapy that balances compassion, honesty, and meaningful change.

A minimalist interior scene with a small, round, beige clay vase holding dried, beige leaves, placed on a beige book on a white marble table with a black frame. To the left, a large off-white ceramic table lamp with a curved base and a cream shade is partially visible. The background is a plain, light-colored wall.

In our sessions, you can expect:

A therapist who’s engaged, present, and honest—not someone who simply sits back and nods
A balance of warmth and honesty, so you feel both supported and challenged when you need it.
Space to explore the beliefs, experiences, and patterns that still influence how you move through the world.
Practical tools you can take with you and use in real life—not just in the therapy room
A collaborative process—I won’t tell you what to do, but I also won’t leave you high and dry

Schedule A Consultation

A person with long reddish-brown hair writing in a small notebook with a black pen, sitting on a chair with a brown leather seat.

Been to therapy before? Maybe it's time for a different approach.

You've read the books, done the reflecting, and maybe even tried therapy before. You can recognize your patterns and explain why you feel the way you do. But somehow, you still find yourself struggling with the same things.

It's not just about showing up. It's about what happens when you do.

You need more than someone who listens and nods. You need a therapist who's actively engaged, asks the questions that matter, challenges you when needed, and helps you make changes that actually carry over into your life.

A cozy living room scene with a round wooden tray on a textured blanket, holding a black mug, a smartphone, a notebook, and a pen, next to a blue upholstered armchair with button tufting, near a window with white curtains.

Together, we'll go beyond talking things through. We'll connect the dots between what you've experienced, how those experiences have shaped you, and how they might still be influencing the way you think, feel, and respond today. From there, we'll explore what may be getting in your way and what you can begin doing differently.

There's no one-size-fits-all approach here. What we focus on depends on your experiences, your needs, and what you want to understand or change.

Schedule a Consultation

what i can help you with

Therapy for Anxiety

Therapy for Depression

Trauma Therapy

Relationship Therapy

Therapy for Grief, Loss, and Life Transitions

Eucalyptus branches with rounded, gray-green leaves against a plain, light background.

A woman with red hair, smiling, sitting indoors near a window with brown curtains and a plant in the background.

What Guides My Work

Compassion + Accountability

You deserve a space where you feel understood and supported—while also being encouraged to look honestly at the thoughts, patterns, and coping strategies that may no longer be serving you. Meaningful growth often happens when compassion and honesty exist together.

Understanding the “why” behind your patterns

You may notice yourself feeling overwhelmed, shutting down, overthinking, avoiding, or responding in ways you don’t fully understand. Together, we’ll explore the experiences and beliefs beneath those reactions with curiosity instead of self-judgment.

Beyond coping skills

Knowing the “right” tools doesn’t always mean you can use them when you need them. We’ll look at what keeps getting in the way so you can do more than cope—you can respond differently.

Training & Experience

- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) – Counselor Education and Supervision
- Master of Science in Professional Counseling (MS)
- Licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia (#0701005880) and the District of Columbia (PRC14247)
Certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- American Counseling Association
- Virginia Counseling Association

therapeutic approaches i use

CBT focuses on the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Together, we'll look at the thoughts and behaviors that may be contributing to anxiety, depression, overwhelm, or self-criticism and develop healthier, more balanced ways of responding.
CBT is often practical and goal-oriented, helping you notice how your thoughts and emotions affect the choices you make in everyday life.
TF-CBT is particularly helpful for processing traumatic experiences in a way that feels supportive, structured, and manageable. This approach can help reduce the emotional impact trauma continues to have on your thoughts, emotions, relationships, and sense of safety.
Our work may include developing coping tools, processing difficult experiences, and rebuilding confidence and a greater sense of stability.
DBT combines practical coping strategies with deeper emotional understanding. It can help you navigate intense emotions, manage stress more effectively, improve communication, and feel more grounded during difficult moments.
In sessions, we may focus on emotional regulation, boundaries, self-awareness, and learning how to respond rather than react.
EFT helps people better understand their emotions and the deeper needs underneath them. This approach can be especially helpful for people who feel disconnected, emotionally overwhelmed, caught in repetitive relationship dynamics, or unsure how to express what they’re feeling.
Rather than just talking about problems intellectually, EFT helps create deeper emotional understanding and connection.
An attachment-based approach explores how past experiences and relationships can shape the way you view yourself, manage emotions, and relate to others. Sometimes the ways we cope today developed as ways to protect ourselves earlier in life.
This work can help you better understand your emotional responses, build more secure relationships, and develop a stronger sense of self-awareness and trust in yourself.
The Gottman Method is a research-based approach to couples therapy focused on helping partners improve communication, navigate conflict more effectively, and strengthen emotional connection.
In our work together, we may focus on understanding recurring patterns, rebuilding trust, increasing emotional intimacy, and creating healthier ways of communicating and responding to one another.