Margaret Johnston, LMHC - Therapist in Florida

Emotion-focused work
Trauma supportive therapy
Acceptance and commitment

About Margaret

Margaret Johnston is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Florida with 11 years of clinical experience. She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, depression, and the everyday shocks that make life hard to manage. Clients often come for help with relationship and intimacy-related issues, eating and body image concerns, bipolar symptoms, ADHD, and questions about identity and gender expression.

She trained at the University of North Florida, earning a Master of Clinical Psychotherapy in 2013. Margaret also completed a nine-month internship in Clinical Pastoral Education focused on deep listening. Her background includes time in a veterans' support program where listening was central to the work.

In sessions she emphasizes listening closely and reflecting back the feelings a person brings. She uses Trauma Supportive Therapy to address painful memories at a pace that feels right for each person. Margaret also works from a person-centered frame that prioritizes a client's own goals and values.

Attachment and Emotionally-Focused Therapy principles appear in her approach to emotions and relationships, along with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques. She aims to help people name their unmet emotional needs and plan concrete steps toward clearer choices and goals.

Margaret describes her practice as inclusive and affirming of diverse identities, and she attends to race and culture when those issues matter to the person in front of her. She welcomes people from LGBTQA, polyamory, kink, and non-gendered communities and supports those facing caregiver stress, fertility challenges, blended family concerns, or workplace strain.

How her approaches translate to online work

Margaret uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) ideas to help people identify and name emotions that are difficult to describe. EFT focuses on emotions and the patterns they create in relationships and personal reactions, which can guide clearer decisions about what to change.

She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which helps people notice thoughts and feelings without getting overwhelmed and then choose actions that match their values. Attachment-based therapy informs how she looks at patterns of connection and trust that shape responses to stress and loss.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. She will collaborate with each person to see which methods feel helpful based on goals, history, and preferences. That may mean mixing EFT, ACT, and CBT strategies into a practical plan that fits daily life.

The biography did not list specific session formats, so confirm current online options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, allow shorter check-ins when time is tight, and remove travel time from a workday. Licensed professionals can adapt the same emotion-focused and values-based tools to remote sessions so clients can continue steady work toward clearer feelings and more purposeful choices.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Stress, Anxiety Trauma and abuse Grief Depression Coping with life changes

Also works with

LGBTRelationship issuesIntimacy-related issuesEating disordersSelf esteemBipolar disorderADHD

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentBDSM, kink, and alternative sex cultureBlended family issuesBody imageCaregiver issues and stress Communication problems Control issues Divorce and separation Domestic violenceEating and food-related issuesFamily of origin issues Fertility issuesFirst responder issuesForgivenessGender dysphoriaGuilt and shameHoardingImpulsivityInfidelity Isolation / loneliness Life purpose Mood disordersMulticultural concernsObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPolyamory / non-monogamous relationshipsPost-traumatic stressPrejudice and discriminationSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSexual assault and abuseSexualitySocial anxiety and phobiaTraumatic brain injuryWomen's issues Young adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)Attachment-Based Therapy Client-Centered Therapy Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)Mindfulness Therapy Narrative Therapy Psychodynamic Therapy Solution-Focused Therapy Trauma-Focused Therapy

Experience

11+ years

Listed in

Florida

Languages

English

Frequently asked questions

What problems does she help with?

She helps people manage stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, depression, and life changes. Other common concerns include relationship and intimacy issues, eating and body image, bipolar symptoms, and ADHD.

What kind of therapy style does she use?

Her work draws on Emotionally-Focused Therapy, Attachment-based ideas, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and CBT techniques. She emphasizes listening, reflecting feelings, and practical planning.

How much experience does she have?

She has 11 years of clinical experience and completed a Master of Clinical Psychotherapy in 2013. Her background also includes a nine-month Clinical Pastoral Education internship.

Where is she licensed and based?

Margaret is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Florida. Her credential is listed as FL LMHC.

Which languages are supported?

Sessions are offered in English. International clients are accepted.

What session formats does she offer?

The original biography does not specify session formats. Please confirm current session options before booking.

How are sessions priced?

Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

What should I do to start working with her?

Use the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.

Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.