Meaning-centered therapy in Washington, DC: when “what’s the point?” is the real question

Washington, DC is a city of purpose. People move here to serve, to build careers, to represent their countries. And yet, in my practice, one of the most common things I hear is some version of: “I am doing everything I planned — and I still feel empty.”

When symptom relief is not enough

Most therapy models are very good at what they were designed for: reducing anxiety, managing depressive symptoms, changing unhelpful patterns. That work matters, and it belongs in any serious clinical practice. But many people arrive already knowing their coping skills. What they cannot answer is the deeper question underneath the symptoms — what is all of this for?

Meaning-centered therapy takes that question seriously rather than treating it as philosophy to be handled later. Grounded in the logotherapy of Viktor Frankl and in existential analysis, it works with evidence-based clinical care while keeping the person’s sources of meaning at the center of the process.

Who this approach tends to help

In my experience, this way of working is especially useful for professionals facing burnout in demanding careers; for people in transition — a new country, a new role, retirement, separation; for immigrants and expatriates carrying two cultures and, often, two versions of themselves; for those living with grief, chronic illness, or loss; and for anyone whose life looks successful from the outside while feeling hollow from the inside.

It is also central to my clinical and research work in suicide prevention. A person’s sense of purpose is one of the strongest protective factors we know — which is why restoring it is not a luxury, but sometimes the most urgent clinical task there is.

Therapy in your own language

For international clients in the DC area, language is not a detail. Grief, shame, and longing often live in the language we grew up with — and translating them into a second language can quietly flatten what matters most. I see clients in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, which allows people to move between languages as the material requires.

About my practice

I am a clinical psychologist with 19 years of practice, licensed in Washington, DC, and a researcher at The Catholic University of America and the University of São Paulo. My work focuses on meaning, identity, and suicide prevention, and includes original clinical frameworks such as the M-5 model, which organizes therapy around the dimensions of a meaningful life.

Sessions are currently offered by secure video for clients in Washington, DC. If any of this resonates, you are welcome to book a free 15-minute consultation through this site — a short conversation to see whether this approach fits what you are looking for. There is no obligation, and no pressure.

If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please reach out for immediate support: call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7 in the US). You deserve care right now, not later.