Joseph Cooper, PhD
Specialist in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) and Somatic Intervention.
You’re tired of the impact that anxiety, trauma, and unhealthy relationship patterns are having on your self-esteem and quality of life.
Or tired of feeling trapped in a cycle of depression, stress, and unhealthy patterns.
About Me
I am a licensed Professional Counselor in Washington, DC, specializing in the treatment of complex anxiety, trauma-related disorders, and chronic somatic pain. My practice is dedicated to helping high-functioning professionals resolve deep-seated emotional blocks that impede both personal fulfillment and professional performance.
Unlike supportive therapies that focus primarily on symptom management, my approach—rooted in ISTDP and Somatic Experiencing—is active and focused. By identifying how unconscious anxiety and defensive patterns manifest in the body, we work toward the rapid resolution of symptoms and the restoration of emotional regulation
I have over 30 years of clinical experience and have extensive training in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP). I integrate the approaches of ISTDP, Internal Family Systems, and Somatic Experiencing to provide you with the tools and experience to resolve those wounds, anxieties, and interpersonal issues you have felt trapped in.
How I work
I like to take an active and focused approach to therapy to help you not only achieve symptom relief, but to help you get to the root of your problems so we can help you find longer lasting change.
My clients have described me collaborative, warm, yet honest and direct. I like to provide feedback to you in the moment to help you gain a better understanding of what is blocking you from living to your fullest potential. I will always work with you from a place of compassion and encouragement.
What are sessions like?
We will pay close attention to the interplay of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and how they manifest both in the session and in your outside life, and explore how the symptoms you experience are often unconsciously learned patterns that were developed to manage your emotions and relationships.
After identifying these patterns we will work on learning ways to change these patterns, and identify healthier ways to experience, process, and express your emotions and true self.
I have found this emotion-focused and experiential aspect of therapy is essential to help you get lasting symptom relief, achieve deeper changes, overcome the effects of trauma, and shorten the duration of therapy.
Training and Education
Washington School of Psychiatry, 2010
Graduate, 3-year training program in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2006
PhD Counselor Education and Supervision
Appalachian State University, 1994
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Appalachian State University, 1989
BS Psychology
License and Certifications
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Washington, DC, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Completed 3-Year training program in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, Washington School of Psychiatry.
Certified International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association Supervisor and Trainer
Co-founder of the Institute of Emotions and Health, Washington, DC
Former faculty and Co-chair of the Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy Program, Washington School of Psychiatry
Former Board member of the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association
Professor Emeritus, Department of Counseling, Marymount University.
For a complete listing of my teaching experience and publications, please click HERE
I like helping people. I find it rewarding, challenging, and fulfilling. I get to see clients change, grow, and become who they want to be by overcoming their fears, anxieties, past traumas, and letting go of unhealthy self-defeating patterns of feeling, behaving, and relating to others. There is no profession like it.
I have 32 years of clinical experience and am a retired professor Emeritus in the Department of Counseling at Marymount University. I am a guest faculty member of the Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy Program at the Washington School of Psychiatry and former board member of the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association (IEDTA).
I enjoy teaching psychotherapy, conducting training seminars, writing, and supervising counselors-in-training. I have published journal and book articles on counseling and psychotherapy, clinical supervision, emotions, and have been an active presenter at regional, national, and international conferences.
For fun I like writing and playing music, cooking, gardening, and traveling.