About Davina
Davina Kavanaugh works with people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, parenting strain, or the aftermath of trauma. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in South Carolina with 18 years of experience. Her style is practical and straightforward, aimed at helping people take the next small step forward.
She focuses on real problems that show up day to day. That includes depression, low self-esteem, addiction challenges, and trouble coping with life changes.
Background and approach
She also helps with specific concerns like abandonment, attachment issues, body image, chronic illness and pain, and dissociation. Her sessions are collaborative. She listens, helps identify patterns that cause pain, and works with clients to build manageable skills.
Those skills can include stress management, ways to handle difficult emotions, and clearer communication with others. Davina draws from multiple approaches that fit different needs. She uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify values and accept hard feelings, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to change unhelpful thinking and behaviors, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills when emotion regulation is needed.
Client-Centered and existential ideas shape how she stays flexible and respectful of each person's story. Clients can expect a focused, steady process rather than quick fixes. The aim is to increase coping, reduce needless suffering, and support practical change.
Davina guides people through each step with empathy and clear goals.
How her approaches translate to online therapy
Davina uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify what matters most and to build actions that align with those values while accepting difficult emotions. She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that maintain anxiety or depression. When emotion regulation and distress tolerance are priorities, she incorporates Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach practical techniques for managing intense feelings.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. She will work with each person to choose which methods fit their goals and daily life. This means trying strategies, checking what helps, and adjusting the plan together rather than assuming a single method will be best.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction for deeper conversation and skills practice. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a simpler check-in is preferred. Live chat and text-based messaging suit shorter check-ins, quick strategies between sessions, or people who find typing easier. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into busy schedules, respond to changing needs, and continue work from wherever the client is located.
Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does she help with?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much clinical experience does she have?
What credentials and location are listed for this therapist?
Which languages are available for sessions?
Are international clients accepted?
What session formats are offered?
How are costs and getting started handled?
What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 18 years
- Licensed
- South Carolina
- Languages
- English