Karla McClure, LCSW-C
Two decades of clinical practice across the systems that serve — and sometimes fail — the people who need them.
I'm a licensed clinical social worker raised in Louisiana. The Washington–Baltimore area has been home for thirty years; my husband and I have been married for thirty as well. We have five children.
My career has moved across most of the clinical settings a therapist can work in. I was the sole counselor at a small college serving 2,000 students. I worked as a clinician in Maryland public schools, across the primary, elementary, middle, and high school levels. Most recently, I served as lead clinician for the flagship research site of the EPINET program — a joint initiative of the University of Maryland and Sheppard Pratt Psychiatric Hospital, applying a novel clinical approach to adolescents experiencing first-episode psychosis.
The practice I've built now is a private outpatient practice for adults, for children and adolescents and the families around them, and for couples navigating significant transitions.
Credentials & training
The work of psychotherapy is shaped by the rooms a clinician has sat in, the supervisors who have shaped their thinking, and the populations they have served. Here is the relevant detail.
Licensure
- LCSW-C Maryland
- License LCSW #28794
- NPI registered Active
- CareFirst BCBS In-network
Education
- MSW Clinical track
- BA, Psychology Honors
- Continuing education Ongoing
Specialized training
- Family systems therapy Bowenian
- Child & adolescent Multi-year
- Couples & family therapy Advanced
- Trauma-informed practice Foundational
How I think about the work.
The most useful thing I bring to a session is a willingness to sit with what is hard to put into words. My training is rooted in psychodynamic and family-systems traditions — frameworks that take seriously the idea that what happens inside a person is shaped by the relationships they grew up in and the relationships they are in now. I draw on cognitive-behavioral and trauma-informed methods when the work calls for them.
I do not believe in one-size-fits-all therapy. Some clients need structure and homework; some need a steady weekly hour to think out loud; some need both at different points. My job is to read the work as it unfolds and adjust — to be useful to the person in front of me, not to apply a method.
For the families I work with, I bring a particular orientation: the family is not the problem to be fixed. The family is the resource that makes the work possible — and the work is to keep that role sustainable, especially when one person in the system is carrying more than their share.
Who I work with — and who I'm not the right fit for.
Therapy works best when the fit is right. I'd rather refer you to someone better suited than take on work I'm not the strongest match for. Here's an honest picture.
Adults navigating major transitions
Career shifts, relationship inflection points, identity questions, the long aftermath of grief. People who want to think carefully rather than be given five steps.
Families navigating mental-health concerns in a young adult
Supporting a son, daughter, or sibling through diagnosis, treatment, and the long arc of recovery. Families need a clinician who can hold the whole system steady.
Children & adolescents
Anxiety, school-related distress, family-system difficulties, identity development. Parents stay informed and involved as collaborators in the work.
Couples in transition
Couples navigating illness, parenting changes, or the question of how to restructure a relationship. Structured, even-handed, not aligned with either partner.
Not the right fit if you're looking for…
Court-mandated therapy, custody evaluations, active substance dependence as a primary concern, or psychiatric medication management. I refer thoughtfully in these cases.
Not the right fit if you're in crisis
This is an outpatient practice. If you are in immediate danger, please call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency department.
A few things people usually want to know.
If this sounds like a fit, the next step is a consult.
Fifteen minutes, by phone or video, no cost, no commitment. We'll talk about what brings you in and decide together whether to continue.
Book a free consult