CENTER CITY PHILADELPHIA, PA · TELEHEALTH STATEWIDE

Claire Friedlander, MSW Candidate

  • Clinical Social Work Intern
  • Supervised by Gretchen Echegoyen, LCSW
  • MSW Candidate · Saint Joseph’s
  • Accepting New Clients

“You don’t have to have everything figured out to take the first step toward feeling better.”

Claire Friedlander is a Master of Social Work candidate and Clinical Social Work Intern at CPA Counseling’s Center City Philadelphia office, providing therapy under the clinical supervision of Gretchen Echegoyen, LCSW. She works with adolescents and adults on anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, relationship concerns, stress, grief, and self-esteem, in person or by secure telehealth across Pennsylvania.

Claire Friedlander
No program commitments
13 insurance plans accepted
Teens, young adults & adults
Telehealth available statewide
Under clinical supervision

WHO CLAIRE WORKS WITH

Who she’s for

Claire works with adolescents, teens, young adults, and adults. Women, men, LGBTQ+ clients, and college students. In person in Center City or by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

1

People who have never done this before.

Her own line is the whole argument: you do not have to have everything figured out to take the first step toward feeling better. If you have been putting off calling because you are not sure what you would even say, that sentence is aimed at you.

2

Teenagers and young adults.

Adolescents, college students, and people in their twenties working out what comes next. School pressure, a first real loss, a relationship that is not working, or the particular stuckness of being told these are the best years of your life.

3

Anyone who wants to be met as they are.

Claire is explicit about welcoming clients from all backgrounds and about building an affirming, inclusive space — including for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Stated plainly rather than implied, which is the point of saying it.

why work with Claire

Show up exactly as you are

Claire’s stated belief: therapy should be a place where you can show up exactly as you are. Her goal is a space where you feel comfortable, supported, and genuinely heard while you work out together what is actually going on.

What brings people in

Anxiety that has taken over the planning. Low mood that has outlasted its reason. A loss that has not moved. A relationship that has stopped working. Or just feeling stuck and overwhelmed without a tidy explanation for why.

How she actually works

Collaborative and person-centered, by her own description. Claire starts from the position that your story, strengths, and goals are your own rather than a case type — and builds tools that fit your life rather than a standard set.

What gets different

Understanding what is getting in the way, practical coping skills you can actually use, and movement toward the life you want to build. Her own three, and the middle one is the part people notice first.

HOW CLAIRE WORKS

Six approaches, built around you

Claire works under the clinical supervision of Gretchen Echegoyen, LCSW, which means every case has a second experienced clinician thinking about it. The approaches below get selected for the person, and that selection is reviewed.

  • CBT
  • Person-Centered
  • Solution-Focused
  • Mindfulness-Based
  • Family Systems
  • Strengths-Based

1

When the thinking is the problem

CBT for the patterns driving anxiety and low mood — catching them as they run, testing whether they hold, and building something usable on a hard morning. Practical coping skills you take out of the room with you.

2

When it runs through the family

Family systems work when the difficulty belongs to the household rather than one person in it. Useful with adolescents in particular, where what looks like one person’s problem often turns out to be a pattern everyone is holding up.

3

When you need the room to feel safe first

Person-centered, strengths-based, and mindfulness-based work. You set the direction and the starting point is what already works rather than a list of what does not. Claire says she wants you to feel comfortable, supported, and genuinely heard — that is the sequence, not a preamble.

CONDITIONS TREATED

What Claire treats – who Claire sees

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Trauma
  • ADHD
  • Life Transitions
  • Grief & Loss
  • Relationship Concerns
  • Technology Addiction
  • Controlling Relationships & Gaslighting
  • LGBTQ+
  • School / Academic
  • Workplace Stress
  • Self-Esteem
  • Teens & Adolescents
  • Young Adults
  • Adults
  • Individuals
  • Women
  • Men
  • LGBTQ+
  • College Students

What supervision means

Two clinicians — not one

Claire is a Clinical Social Work Intern practicing under the clinical supervision of Gretchen Echegoyen, LCSW. In practice that means a second experienced clinician reviews the work regularly — you get Claire’s attention in the room and Gretchen’s judgment behind it. Sessions with an intern are also usually easier to book.

“Therapy should be a place where you can show up exactly as you are.”

CARE PHILOSOPHY

Comfortable, supported. And genuinely heard.

Claire’s stated belief is that therapy should be a place where you can show up exactly as you are. Her goal is a space where you feel comfortable, supported, and genuinely heard, while the two of you work to better understand what you are experiencing.

She takes a collaborative, person-centered approach and believes every person’s story, strengths, and goals are unique. Whether you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply looking for support, the work is to build tools that fit your life rather than a standard set someone else designed.

She welcomes clients from all backgrounds and is committed to an affirming, inclusive space where everyone feels seen, respected, and supported, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. Together you work out what is getting in the way, build practical coping skills, and move toward the life you want to create.

ABOUT CLAIRE

The first step is enough

Claire Friedlander is a Master of Social Work candidate and Clinical Social Work Intern providing therapy under the clinical supervision of Gretchen Echegoyen, LCSW.

She works with adolescents and adults navigating anxiety, depression, life transitions, relationship challenges, stress, self-esteem, grief, and trauma. She believes therapy should be a place where you can show up exactly as you are.

Her goal is to create a space where you feel comfortable, supported, and genuinely heard, while the two of you work together to better understand what you are experiencing and build tools that fit your life. She takes a collaborative, person-centered approach and believes that every person’s story, strengths, and goals are unique.

Claire welcomes clients from all backgrounds and is committed to an affirming, inclusive space where everyone feels seen, respected, and supported, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. She is completing her MSW at Saint Joseph’s University and holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She sees clients at the Center City Philadelphia office and by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

CREDENTIALS & TRAINING

DEGREE

MSW Candidate · Social Work

Saint Joseph’s University

CERTIFICATIONS

MSW Candidate · Clinical Social Work Intern

ALSO TRAINED

BS Psychology · University of Wisconsin-Madison

FOCUS

Anxiety · Life Transitions · Self-Esteem

IN PRACTICE

Supervised by Gretchen Echegoyen, LCSW

Center City Philadelphia · Telehealth

IN NETWORK

Aetna · BCBS · Cigna/Evernorth · Geisinger · Highmark · UPMC · UHC

Optum · Carelon · ComPsych · Magellan · Meritain · BHS

2

Clinicians on Your Case

Claire plus Gretchen Echegoyen, LCSW

✦

Center City Philadelphia

In person or telehealth statewide

∞

Personalized Care Plans

No program commitments required

CONDITION GUIDE

Therapy guides from Claire Friedlander

  • Patient Zero

    Mental Health

    What Taylor Swift Teaches Us About Parasocial Connection

    Why millions feel they truly know someone they’ve never met — the psychology of parasocial connection, when it’s comforting, and when it’s telling you something.

  • woman lost in thinking about to do items shown on the image

    Anxiety

    When Anxiety Starts Making the Rules

    Anxiety rarely announces itself as anxiety — it arrives as good judgment, feeling like being careful, responsible, or thinking ahead, and by the time you notice, it may have been making your decisions for years. OCD is mostly internal: intrusive thoughts, mental checking, rumination, reassurance-seeking. Both respond well to treatment.

  • Accessibility

    Information

    CPA Counseling Accessibility Statement

    Our commitment to an accessible website — WCAG 2.1 AA, keyboard operability, high contrast — and a direct contact if you encounter any barrier.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Questions about working with Claire Friedlander

What new clients ask most often before their first session.

Claire is a Master of Social Work candidate and Clinical Social Work Intern working under the clinical supervision of Gretchen Echegoyen, LCSW. She works with adolescents and adults on anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, life transitions, grief and loss, relationship concerns, technology addiction, controlling relationships and gaslighting, school and workplace stress, and self-esteem, drawing on CBT, person-centered, solution-focused, mindfulness-based, family systems, and strengths-based approaches.

A Clinical Social Work Intern is completing a Master of Social Work and providing therapy under the supervision of a licensed clinical social worker. Claire’s supervisor is Gretchen Echegoyen, LCSW, who reviews the work regularly — which means two clinicians are thinking about your case rather than one. Intern sessions are also usually easier to get into, since caseloads are smaller.

Often yes. Claire’s own line is that you do not have to have everything figured out to take the first step toward feeling better — which is aimed squarely at people who have been putting off calling because they are not sure what they would say. She works collaboratively and will not expect you to arrive with it organized.

Yes. Claire is accepting new clients at the Center City Philadelphia office and through telehealth across Pennsylvania, and often has more availability than our fully licensed clinicians. She is in network with thirteen plans including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and Evernorth, Highmark, UPMC, UnitedHealthcare, and Optum. Request an appointment online or call 412-439-1416.