Meet KonTerra Counseling & Psychological Services
WHERE YOUR WORLD MEETS THERAPISTS WHO UNDERSTAND IT
Online therapy in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, Texas — and globally for those in international or cross cultural professions.
You’re Doing Work That Matters
You’re here because the work is meaningful — and because the cost of doing it has become harder to ignore.
Many of the people we work with are professionals in high-stress roles who find themselves exhausted, disillusioned, or questioning how long they can keep going the way they are. Not because they’ve lost belief in the work itself, but because the systems surrounding it are often fractured, under-resourced, or misaligned with the values that brought them here — and because finding therapy that truly understands this kind of work is rare.
You care deeply about the work – but the systems around you are making it unsustainable.
That’s where our work begins.
You’ve Already Tried to Figure This Out
If there were simple answers, you would have already found them. You’re usually the one others turn to when things fall apart - the one people are drawn toward to make sense of difficult situations.
But even the problem-solver needs a place to bring what feels unsolvable.
For many of our clients, the goal isn’t to walk away from the work that matters — it’s to find a way to stay in it without being consumed by it.
Therapy With Us Is Not One-Size-Fits All
What works for one person may not work for another — and we work with you accordingly. Our approach is thoughtful and tailored, taking into account your concerns, your goals, and the realities of your work and life.
For some, that means a focused series of sessions — a space to recalibrate and regain footing. For others, it means longer-term work and consistent support. Some clients value the rhythm of weekly sessions. Others need flexibility because of the demands of their roles. We’ll decide that together.
You Don’t Have to Be a “Good” Client Here
You don’t need to perform. You don’t need to impress us with the right words, a profound insight, or a linear story.
You won’t be judged for the messiness, the ambivalence, the shame, the guilt, or the exhaustion. And you won’t scare us by saying the thing you usually only admit to yourself at 3 a.m.
Many of the people we work with spend their lives serving others, leading teams, or being the one that everyone else relies on. It’s not uncommon for them to worry about being “too much,” taking up space, or becoming a burden.
We don’t see you that way.
We can sit with you — even in the places you feel most ashamed or disconnected — without turning away.
This is the work we specialize in. Every day, we support professionals navigating burnout, moral injury, leadership strain, and the emotional cost of high-stakes work. We know how complicated this work can be – and we know how to help people move through them.
You’re Not Explaining Yourself to Outsiders
We have worked within large, complex institutions ourselves. We understand the dynamics of toxic leadership, unrelenting demands, the pressure to compromise your ethics — not because we’ve read about them, but because we’ve lived them.
You won't have to translate the realities of your work or your life for us. We already understand the systems you operate within, the pressures you carry, and the identities that shape your experience.
We’re not intimidated by complexity, and we don’t mirror your panic back to you.. We won't just sit with the hard truths — we'll examine them with you, name what we see, and ask the hard questions without flinching. And when the dark humor shows up, we'll go there with you. We know why you reach for it.
We don’t lose sight of your strengths — even when you have.
When exhaustion or doubt makes them hard to see, we help you reconnect with the things that have carried you this far.
Sometimes the work is serious. Sometimes it’s messy. Sometimes it’s unexpectedly funny. We’re comfortable with all of it.
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
We Bring Stability to High-Stakes Work
The systems you work inside are often chaotic or misaligned. We are not. We offer steadiness, clarity, and space to think when everything feels urgent - helping you choose with intention rather than from depletion.
We Don’t Ignore Systems
Stress, burnout, and moral distress don’t exist in a vacuum. We pay attention to power, policy, culture, and context — because ignoring systems leads to shallow solutions.
We Work With You, Not On You
You are not a passive recipient of treatment. We collaborate. You bring lived experience and values. We bring clinical skill and perspective. The work is transparent and mutual.
We Tell The Truth - Humanely
We won’t placate you or avoid what matters. We’ll challenge you when needed — thoughtfully, respectfully, and without shame. Hard conversations are held with dignity here.
We Stay Attentive to Power and Privilege
Identity shapes how stress and opportunity are experienced. We approach this work with humility and awareness, recognizing how race, gender, culture, class, and systems of power intersect with your life.
Some Of The Methods We Use
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A structured therapy that helps the brain process and resolve distressing experiences so they no longer carry the same emotional intensity. EMDR can be especially helpful for people who have absorbed years of high-stress or traumatic work experiences.
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Therapeutic work that incorporates time in natural environments to support reflection, regulation, and perspective — particularly helpful for people carrying sustained professional stress.
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Methods that work with the body’s stress responses to release accumulated tension and restore steadiness when stress has become chronic. For professionals who spend much of their time in intense thinking and decision-making, somatic work helps bring awareness back to the body, where stress is often held.
Meet Our Team
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Raven Ellis, LCPC
Available in MD + internationally
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![Smiling woman in a navy blue dress with white pattern standing outdoors with green mountain landscape in the background.]()
Camilla Tibbetts, LICSW
Available in DC + internationally
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![A woman with dark, curly hair wearing a green top, smiling at the camera. Background shows a dark headboard and a colorful framed artwork on the wall.]()
Megan Laughlin Williams, LCPC
Available in DC, MD + Internationally
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![A smiling woman with light complexion, short light brown hair, and blue eyes, wearing a black top and large silver earrings, standing in front of a gray horizontal wooden wall.]()
Donnica Wingett, LICSW
Available in DC, MD, VA, TX + internationally
Our Name
KonTerra draws from the Latin con ("with") and terra ("earth") — being with people, wherever they stand.
If you're familiar with The KonTerra Group’s workplace-based programs supporting organizations in high-stress, high-stakes environments — that's still us, and we remain fully committed to that work.
KonTerra Counseling & Psychological Services is a sister company, extending that same commitment directly to individuals, not just the organizations they work for. Same values, same understanding of what this work costs a person, just a different door in.
Letter from Our Co-Founder
I remember exactly where I was sitting on January 24, 2025 when I read that all US foreign assistance would be paused. I felt my entire body turn to ice and a rock settle in my stomach. I knew this was going to be bad. At that moment, I didn’t know how bad it would be.
In the following weeks I watched USAID dismantled and lifesaving programs cruelly halted. I saw organizations go on life support overnight; many did not survive. I saw people, and their work, tossed aside.
At the time, every member of the KonTerra Counseling team was working closely with humanitarian and development professionals. We were not immune to the trauma and the grief.
As we walked alongside colleagues and clients buffeted by uncertainty and unmoored from identity, we found ourselves asking the same question many of them were asking: What do we do now?
We chose to build.
KonTerra Counseling was created because our world needs people who give a damn to keep giving a damn. If you are inspired by your work but feeling crushed by it, you deserve to have a place where someone shows up for you the way you have shown up for others.
If your professional world has shifted in ways you didn’t anticipate, you’re in the right place.
If you are carrying exhaustion from trying to hold too much for too long, you’re in the right place.
If your sense of purpose or identity feels unsettled, you’re in the right place.
The people we serve still believe in their work. What they’re questioning is whether the systems around them will allow them to keep doing it.
That’s the work. We’re here for it.
Lynne Cripe
Co-Founder & CEO
About Our Co-Founder
Lynne Cripe, is the Co-Founder and CEO of KonTerra Counseling & Psychological Services and the CEO of The KonTerra Group, where she has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of mental health, resilience, and high-stakes professional environments.
A social psychologist by training, Lynne’s work has been shaped by decades of supporting professionals whose roles require them to hold responsibility, risk, and the wellbeing of others. She has worked extensively with international humanitarian and development organizations, supporting both individuals and systems navigating crisis, trauma, and prolonged stress in complex and high-risk settings around the world.
KonTerra Counseling was created as a natural extension of that work.
While the KonTerra Group partners with organizations to support the wellbeing of their staff, KonTerra Counseling focuses on the individuals within those systems—offering a place for deeper, more sustained care outside of the workplace context.
Her approach is grounded in a commitment to restoration—of individuals, of relationships, and of the capacity to continue doing meaningful work in the world without being undone by it.