About Cheryl Zandt, LPC, LCPC
My Approach
I am Cheryl Zandt, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC, and the founder of Heart & Mind Insights. I provide telehealth therapy for women and specialize in helping people living with anxiety, chronic stress, burnout, self-esteem concerns, perfectionism, emotional boundaries, life transitions, and the many ways these experiences affect daily life.
My work is grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness practice, Brainspotting, and somatic approaches to healing, along with extensive training in advanced traumatic stress studies. I draw from these approaches differently depending on the person in front of me, what she wants to work on, and what seems most useful.
I am deeply interested in helping people understand why they experience life the way they do, because seeing our experiences in context can help us recognize choices we couldn’t see before.
The things we struggle with, our beliefs, habits, emotional responses, expectations, coping strategies, and ways of relating to other people all have histories. Some developed because they were useful. Some helped us adapt to difficult circumstances. Some reflect what we learned about ourselves or the world around us. And some just don’t fit our lives as well as they once did.
Therapy gives us room to be curious about all of that.
We can look at what is happening now, understand more about what has shaped it, and decide together where change might be useful. Sometimes that means learning practical skills. Sometimes it means questioning an old assumption, trying something different, paying attention to what your body is telling you, or working with an experience that insight alone hasn’t fully shifted.
I bring my clinical knowledge and experience to that work, but you remain the expert on your own experience. You can always decide what you want to work on. My job is to help you understand it more clearly, offer ideas and tools that may help, notice patterns and possibilities with you, and support you in finding changes that make sense for your life.
What I Bring Into the Session
Many of the women I work with are extremely good at being capable, responsible, thoughtful, helpful, composed, and aware of what other people need from them. Sometimes that also means becoming very good at presenting the version of themselves that a particular situation seems to require.
Therapy doesn’t need that version of you.
You don’t need to know exactly what to say, have everything organized, or tell me anything before you’re ready. We’ll start wherever feels useful to you.
Often, reactions that have felt confusing or troubling become easier to understand when we look at what you’ve experienced, what you’ve learned, and what you’ve had to adapt to.
We can begin with curiosity.
Growing up surrounded by nature, one of the experiences I’ve treasured most has been feeding wild birds from my hands. What I love about those interactions is the silent experience of communicating safety to something that has every reason to remain guarded.
People have reasons for being guarded, too. I don’t need you to tell me anything before you’re ready. The time is yours.
And while I take this work very seriously, therapy itself doesn’t have to feel serious every minute. We may laugh. Therapy can involve difficult and deeply meaningful work. It can also include relief, insight, humor, and the unexpected pleasure of realizing that change doesn’t always have to happen the hard way.
Therapy That Fits Into Your Actual Life
I provide therapy exclusively through telehealth, and I value what that allows us to create.
You can meet with me from a private space where you already feel comfortable, without adding a commute, a waiting room, or another transition to an already busy day. When the session ends, you can give yourself a few minutes before returning to the rest of your day, without having to walk through a public office or travel home.
And although we aren’t physically in the same room, our work is still deeply connected.
Why I Do This
My career began in the hospital, caring for people who were experiencing medical crises. I was often present during some of the most stressful and disorienting moments of their lives, and then I never saw them again.
I found myself wondering what happened after they left.
How did they process what had happened? What support did they need once the immediate crisis had passed? What happened when they returned to the rest of their lives?
Over time, those questions led me to become a therapist. I felt a deep connection to being present with people in a more ongoing way – not only during a moment of crisis, but as they made sense of what had happened, adapted to change, understood themselves differently, and figured out what they wanted next.
More than twenty years later, I still consider being trusted with that work a privilege.
A Personal Note
I live in Washington DC with my husband, our amazing teen daughter, our cats, and a wild cardinal who comes to visit when he’s called.
When I’m not working, you’ll usually find me reading, spending time with friends, visiting museums, supporting local community efforts, tending my garden, or hiking in the woods. I love learning, I love nature, and I love travel. There is almost always another adventure being dreamed up or planned.
My work as a therapist reflects many of the same things I value in the rest of my life: curiosity, connection, learning, humor, and respect for the enormous variety of ways there are to be human.
Every person who comes to therapy brings a whole life with them – relationships, experiences, responsibilities, values, hopes, contradictions, and ways of seeing the world. I want our work to make room for all of that and to help you understand yourself, care for yourself, and make choices about your life with greater clarity and freedom.
Get started here
Complete the secure inquiry form below and I’ll personally respond within one business day. We’ll schedule a brief consultation call where you can share a general sense of what brings you to therapy, ask questions about my approach, and decide whether working together feels right for you.
You may also be interested in learning more about:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a practical approach for understanding how thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and nervous system responses influence one another. Learn how small adjustments can create lasting changes over time.
Mindfulness is the practice of intentionally paying attention. In a world that constantly competes for your focus, learn how mindfulness can help you return to the present moment and the life you’re already living.
Some experiences continue affecting us long after we’ve understood them. Brainspotting helps access and process material that may exist beyond words, insight, or conscious awareness.