Natasha Benfer, PhD

Natasha serves as a clinical psychologist with years of experience working with adults who are struggling to live the life they envisioned for themselves. Natasha understands that reaching out for help is not easy and you may have never pictured yourself as a person who goes to therapy. She provides her clients a safe space to share their deepest fears, while teaching the skills you need to make the changes you want. She has a direct approach, infused with some humor, and an emphasis on making progress.

As a scientist-practitioner with an extensive research background (she has over 25 peer-reviewed publications), Natasha uses evidence-based approaches, meaning she consults the latest literature to identify the most effective approaches to working with your specific set of concerns. Often, this means pulling from a cognitive-behavioral (CBT) framework (you can read more about CBT here). She specializes in working with clients with trauma- and anxiety-related distress, such as PTSD, OCD, moral injury, social anxiety, and clinical perfectionism. Natasha has strong training in and experience with Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Exposure/Response Prevention (EX/RP).  Natasha completed her training at numerous VAs across the country, and thus has specialized training in working with Veterans and military populations. She also regularly provides consultation to local law enforcement agencies.

Natasha can serve clients in Virginia or any PSYPACT state (check here to see if your state is on the list).

Training and Credentials

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Virginia License #0810007774

VA Boston Healthcare System, Postdoctoral training, 2023

VA Maryland Healthcare System, APA-accredited internship, 2021 

Auburn University, Doctor of Philosophy, Clinical Psychology, 2021

Nationally certified in Cognitive Processing Therapy, 2020

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi), 2019