Therapy for Change
Many young adults come to therapy when anxiety, depression, or relationship challenges lead them to use unhealthy strategies to manage their feelings—whether that’s substance use, avoidance, isolation, or negative self-talk. Often, these struggles come from feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, or not feeling good enough. When we look deeper, thoughts like “I’m not worthy,” “I’m failing,” or “I don’t deserve happiness” can arise—beliefs that keep you stuck in patterns that don’t serve you.
If you’re tired of feeling stuck, unmotivated, or dissatisfied with your life or relationships, and want to develop healthier ways to manage these feelings, we’ll connect on a human level and work together to create the positive changes you want to see.
What Happens Next?
We’ll begin with a phone consultation to build rapport and get to know each other. During this call, we’ll briefly discuss the concerns or challenges you’d like to address in therapy. If you prefer, you can share these thoughts via email instead.
After that, we’ll schedule our first virtual session. Together, we’ll continue to connect and develop specific goals tailored to your needs. These goals might include reducing or stopping alcohol or cannabis use, learning healthier ways to cope with sadness and anxiety, or breaking unhelpful habits.
Whatever you choose to focus on, we’ll work as a team to achieve those goals and support your growth.
Here Is An Example...
Let’s say you want to better manage your anxiety, and you want to feel more calm and in control. In therapy, we’ll focus on the situations that trigger your anxiety. We’ll explore the thoughts and feelings that arise in those moments—thoughts like “I can’t handle this” or “Something bad is going to happen.” Together, we’ll identify these beliefs and work on practical steps to reduce your anxiety and improve your overall mood and well-being.
About Your Therapist
Far too often, we tumble down a mental "rabbit hole," asking ourselves, "What if?" We're in a free-fall, imagining one worst-case scenario after another. We know these images in our minds aren't real and are unlikely to happen, yet we believe our worst fears will come true.
Our thoughts have a unique way of "tricking" us into believing our accomplishments don't matter or that we don't measure up to other people. We try our best to cope with a few changes in our feelings and behavior. The happiness we want for ourselves appears elusive but yet at our fingertips. What drives me to work with you is that I want you to hold your happiness in your hands.
My name is Shariff, owner of Therapy for Change.
During my free time, I'm with my family members. However, I love the gym. There aren't many things outside of running, the bench, and the squat rack that I enjoy.
Maybe if I thought long and hard about it, I could name a few other things I like doing, such as gaming or rooting for the New York Giants to win a football game. But exercising does it for me.
Education & Licenses
Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Virginia (2020)
George Mason University Master’s of Social Work (2018)
Virginia Commonwealth University B.S. Psychology (2014)
Trained in
Collaborative Assessment Management Suicidality
Cognitive Processing Therapy
Motivational Interviewing
American Society of Addiction Medicine
Read Client Reviews
"Shariff was extremely patient, non-judgmental, gave me validation, but made me see myself in such a positive way. Although our time together was short lived - because I moved - he made my first experience into this therapy world a great experience. I never felt ashamed, I felt completely accepted and I learned so much about myself and he gave me tools to use in my personal growth journey. I will forever be appreciative to him for his time, grace and acceptance."
– Chrystal
"In working with Shariff, I learned, it was and is okay to feel negative emotions and that confirmation of knowing it is okay to go through the motions was all I needed to move forward”"
– Katherine
"Shariff is methodical and an intent listener. I would go back to him if needed"
– Michael
“ I had a fantastic experience with Shariff. He was so genuine and helped me have such a positive outlook moving forward. If you’re looking for someone that truly listens to you and relates so much to your problems, I highly recommend! He was truly great!"
– Samantha
"I felt that the therapy I received was more involved and detailed than others I have received in the past. I was taught the practice of questioning my negative thoughts, this led to me becoming more aware of my headspace and allowed me to work on reversing this. I left these session feeling like I had made progress in my mental health rather than just talking about it. I also enjoyed the fact that we would go over our time sometimes and would not be cut off when time was immediately up. It felt like I could tell that he cared for me and truly wanted me to make progress in life."
Sincerely,– Javier
"Shariff changed my life. His techniques and strategies for helping
me positively reshape my thinking allowed me to reframe my life in a
more positive light. I wouldn't be who I am without him."
Sincerely,– William
