Winnie Lee
Resident in Counseling, Virginia & Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor, DC
I have always been drawn to the questions at the heart of therapy — how we connect, make meaning, and relate to ourselves and others. Long before entering the counseling field, I explored those questions through my work in visual arts and design, writing and editing, teaching, therapeutic yoga, and nonprofit roles supporting families through crisis and loss.
My background is wide-ranging, yet each chapter has centered around the same principles. I am drawn to helping people make sense of their experiences, reconnect with themselves and others, and feel less alone in the experiences that are most painful and hardest to carry.
My work as a therapist is centered around trauma, loss, life transitions, relationships, and affirmative care. I believe that people's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors make sense within the context of their lived experience. Understanding that context reveals what each person needs in order to heal, grow, and thrive. This is the foundation of the individualized care I bring to every client.
Questions about therapy? Send us a message!
My Background As A Counselor
Before becoming a therapist, I spent more than two decades in creative and healing-adjacent spaces. My first graduate degree was a Master of Fine Arts, and much of my work in the arts centered on storytelling as a way of making sense of the human experience. As a writer, editor, educator, and photographer, I came to understand early on how transformative it can be when people feel safe enough to be vulnerable.
I also spent time in nonprofit spaces supporting families of American hostages and wrongful detainees, as well as volunteering with Postpartum Support of Virginia, walking alongside parents navigating pregnancy and infant loss. These experiences deepened my capacity to sit with grief, trauma, and profound loss—and to bear witness to pain that is often carried in silence.
By choosing me as your therapist, you can expect warmth, curiosity, and care–and a space where vulnerability can be held and meaningful change can begin. You'll have a collaborative partner who meets you with openness and respect, and who brings both clinical training and a deep respect for your own lived experience and inner knowing. Deep healing happens in empowering relationships, and therapy offers a foundation to deepen your self-understanding and move toward more authentic, connected ways of being.
My Therapeutic Approach To Healing
Whether you’re seeking therapy by yourself or with a partner, I can help you make sense of how protective patterns that have kept you safe in the past may no longer be serving you in the present. Together, we can slow down, listen more closely to the wisdom of your emotions, and create space for deeper self-awareness, stronger communication, and more meaningful connections.
Therapy sessions with me are experiential and individualized. We honor what feels most pressing while also exploring the deeper emotional landscape beneath. The therapeutic space gives us a chance to tend to the roots of your distress and respond with compassion, comfort, and care.
I bring a trauma-informed, client-centered, and affirmative perspective to my counseling work, drawing primarily from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). Both approaches align deeply with my belief that emotions are central to healing, that relationships are essential, and that you carry within you the capacity for lasting change. I also integrate expressive arts, somatic practices, and mindfulness into therapy whenever useful and appropriate.
With couples, I see the entire relationship as my client. Rather than focusing on who is right or wrong, we work together to understand the deeper emotions and unmet needs that are driving conflict and disconnection. My goal in couples counseling is to help you and your partner reach for each other in new ways — building safety, trust, and a more secure and lasting bond.
How My Personal Experiences Influence My Work
My own life experiences have deeply shaped my approach to this work. I know what it is to navigate loss, grief, isolation, and a felt sense of disconnection from myself and others.
Outside of therapy, I find joy in creativity and embodiment. Whether I am practicing yoga, drawing, painting, knitting or spending time in nature on a hike or in a kayak, finding my flow helps me feel more at home in myself. Time with my family also brings me deep comfort and peace. These are the parts of my life that remind me that meeting our experiences in life with compassion and attunement brings true connection and healing.
I believe that every person carries the capacity for growth and change, and it would be my honor to walk alongside you as you find your way toward greater connection, well-being, and a life you love.
Every Time I Meet More Of Myself, I Can Know And Love More Of You—Yung Pueblo
Winnie Lee is a therapist at Callahan Therapy & Consultation in Virginia. She holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from George Washington University, a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Pratt Institute, and a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts/Art History with a Psychology minor from George Washington University. Her advanced training includes Emotionally Focused Therapy, IFS-informed therapy, trauma-informed care, LGBTQIA+ affirmative care, and Yoga Therapy. Winnie is receiving Clinical Supervision from Melissa Callahan, LMFT.