Strength is not the absence of struggle.
It is how you recover from it.
Private, evidence-based psychological care for those who have served — focused on sleep disorders, nightmares, trauma-related concerns, and rebuilding everyday functioning. Delivered by secure video from wherever you are in Virginia, and soon across PsyPACT states.
Care informed by the realities of service
Dr. Mikal Rasheed is a Virginia-licensed clinical psychologist who spent more than a decade providing psychological care and consultation inside military and national-security communities — not reading about them.
A career built around those who serve
Before opening Resilient Valor Psychology, Dr. Rasheed served as a national security and organizational psychologist across the Pentagon, Special Operations communities, and Defense Health Agency settings, including the DiLorenzo TRICARE Health Clinic. He completed his pre-doctoral internship at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, where he trained alongside Air Force medical teams serving active-duty members and their families.
His work has included individual and group psychotherapy, behavioral and personality assessment, risk and fitness-for-duty evaluations, brief problem-focused intervention in integrated primary care, and consultation to senior leaders on readiness, performance, and risk. He has advised commanders and teams under real operational pressure — experience he now brings to every session.
That background means you do not have to explain what a deployment does to a marriage, why hypervigilance follows you home, or why sleep becomes the first casualty of service. He already understands the culture, the mission rhythm, and the cost of always being ready.
Why veterans choose this practice
Specialty, not everything. The focus is sleep, nightmares, and trauma-related concerns — treated with methods that have strong research support.
Language you don't have to translate. No need to explain acronyms, duty cycles, or why "just relax" has never worked.
Privacy and discretion. A solo practice built for people whose careers make confidentiality especially important. Telehealth sessions from your own space.
Practical tools. Skills that hold up in real life — during shift work, family demands, and transition — not just in the therapy hour.
Built for the people who carry the load
While the practice specializes in military-connected care, adults from all backgrounds seeking thoughtful, evidence-based treatment are welcome.
Veterans & Active-Duty Service Members
All branches and eras, including those navigating VA or TRICARE systems.
Military Spouses & Families
Care for the people who serve alongside — relocations, separations, and the strain of waiting.
First Responders & High-Stress Professionals
Law enforcement, fire/EMS, clinicians, and national-security professionals in demanding roles.
LGBTQ+ Veterans
Affirming care from a psychologist who won't ask you to educate him about who you are.
African American Veterans
Care that understands code-switching, mistrust of systems, and the strength it takes to keep serving.
Anyone Facing Moral Injury
When the weight isn't fear — it's what you had to do, see, or carry.
Sleep is a natural, essential function. So why is it so hard?
You're exhausted — and afraid of another bad night. You dread bedtime, you've tried the sleep-hygiene lists, and maybe you're relying on medication or supplements that leave you groggy and still don't work. Meanwhile your focus, mood, and relationships are paying for it.
For veterans and service members this often gets worse, not better, after transition: the hypervigilance that kept you alive on watch doesn't clock out at bedtime. The good news: sleep responds quickly to the right treatment — and better sleep makes every other part of recovery easier.
Insomnia & Trauma-Related Insomnia
Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early. A short-term CBT-I program designed to reset your natural sleep rhythm and quiet sleep anxiety — without adding medications.
Nightmares & Recurrent Trauma Nightmares
A structured, stepwise nightmare protocol that breaks the cycle of recurring nightmares and disrupted sleep, integrated with trauma-focused care when needed.
Restless & Non-Restorative Sleep
You're in bed for hours but wake up feeling like you never slept. Treatment consolidates sleep and improves quality so you wake up actually refreshed.
Shift Work & Irregular Schedules
For those still on duty schedules, rotating shifts, or early PT formations — plans built to survive real operational constraints.
Sleep & PTSD Recovery
Nightmares, hypervigilance, and insomnia fuel each other. Treating sleep early often restores the capacity to do deeper trauma work.
Ready to Try Less Medication?
If you'd like to reduce reliance on sleep aids over time, CBT-I is the first-line, recommended treatment — coordinated carefully with your prescriber.
Do not stop or change medication on your own. Discuss any changes with your prescriber.
What treatment looks like
1. A comprehensive assessment of your sleep history and what's keeping the cycle in place. 2. A clear plan — sleep window, stimulus control, circadian anchors, and a nightmare protocol when indicated. 3. Short-term, skills-based treatment: most people see change within the first few sessions. 4. Coordination with your other providers (primary care, prescriber, sleep-medicine specialist) when helpful.
Evidence-based care for what you carried home
Treatment draws on established psychological science and is tailored to your goals, history, and the realities of your life. You decide the pace; nothing is forced.
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD
- EMDR-informed approaches where appropriate
- CBT for Insomnia (CBT-I) and nightmare-focused protocols
- Moral injury and meaning-focused work
- Stress, burnout, anger, and hypervigilance
- Life transitions — separation, retirement, and civilian life
Expertise in caring for African American and LGBTQ+ veterans
You served every part of this country. Care should meet all of who you are.
African American veterans
Many Black veterans carry an extra layer: carrying the mission and the community, code-switching between worlds, and a well-earned wariness toward health systems that haven't always earned trust. Here, you don't have to translate your experience or perform being "fine." Care is grounded in respect for your history and your strengths — and in evidence-based treatment that actually works, not assumptions about who you are.
LGBTQ+ veterans
You shouldn't have to educate your psychologist about your identity before you can heal. This practice is affirming, informed, and experienced with the specific stressors LGBTQ+ veterans face — including service under "don't ask, don't tell," family reactions, minority stress, and the double armor of pride and vigilance. Your pronouns are respected from the first session, your relationships are treated as relationships, and your survival strategies are understood, not pathologized.
Medication has a real place in a comprehensive plan
Therapy and medication are not rivals — they are different tools that work best together. For many conditions, including PTSD, depression, and insomnia, the strongest outcomes come from combining evidence-based psychotherapy with thoughtful medication management.
As a psychologist, Dr. Rasheed does not prescribe medication. Instead, he collaborates directly with prescribers — your primary care provider, VA or TRICARE psychiatrist, or a psychiatric colleague — so that your medications, therapy goals, and sleep plan actually fit together instead of working against each other.
Prefer a trusted psychiatric partner? Dr. Rasheed frequently coordinates with Dr. Ellyn Johnson of The Psycannatrist, a board-certified psychiatrist offering telepsychiatry across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia — including medication management and collaborative care.
How coordinated care works
1. Shared picture. With your permission, your therapist and prescriber exchange the key facts — symptoms, medications, side effects, sleep plan.
2. Clear roles. Therapy targets skills, trauma processing, and sleep behavior; medication targets biology and symptom relief.
3. One plan. Adjustments on either side are communicated — for example, timing medication changes around nightmare-protocol work.
You stay in control of your care team. Coordination only happens with your written consent.
Clear rates, no surprises
What it costs and how to start — answered before you ever pick up the phone.
| Service | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Intake appointment (first session, ~55–60 min) | $250 | Comprehensive assessment and treatment plan |
| Follow-up psychotherapy session (~55 min) | $200 | Individual telehealth session |
| Five-session package | $900 | Prepaid; a good fit once a treatment plan is set |
| Initial consultation call (15 min) | Free | Confirm fit before you commit |
Self-pay
Self-pay rates are listed above. Payment is collected through the secure client portal, and HSA/FSA cards are accepted. A Good Faith Estimate is provided in advance, as required by law.
Using insurance
The practice is in the process of joining insurance panels, with TRICARE as the first priority. Until panel participation is finalized, self-pay rates apply and a superbill can be provided for out-of-network reimbursement if your plan allows it. Insurance coverage and eligibility are always confirmed during scheduling — never assumed.
Cancellations made less than 24 hours before a scheduled session are subject to the full session fee. Booking a consultation does not create a therapist-patient relationship until intake is scheduled.
Book an appointment
Use the IntakeQ calendar below to view available services and appointment times. Fees, insurance participation, and eligibility should be confirmed before your visit.
Prefer a separate window, or having trouble loading the calendar? Open the IntakeQ booking page ↗.
Care that travels with you
Sessions are held by secure, HIPAA-compliant video. The practice is licensed in Virginia today, and — through PsyPACT (the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact) — will soon provide telehealth services to clients in all PsyPACT states.
PsyPACT authorization is underway; state availability will be confirmed at scheduling as authorizations are approved. See psypact.org for the current list of participating states.
Tools for the work between sessions
Progress happens between sessions. Current patients and website members get a private resource library with homework assignments, worksheets, and the apps used in treatment.
🔐 Member sign-in
This area is limited to current patients and paying website members.
Inside the member library
Available to current patients and members:
📋 Homework & worksheets
- Sleep diaries & sleep-window worksheets
- Stimulus-control rules of the road
- Nightmare log & rescripting practice sheets
- Thought records & between-session practice for CPT/PE
- Session summaries and "this week's focus" plans
📱 Apps used in treatment
- CBT-i Coach (VA) — structured CBT-I program with sleep diary and tools
- Insomnia Coach (VA) — free guided five-week CBT-I training plan
- PTSD Coach (VA) — symptom tracking, grounding, and coping tools
- Breathe2Relax (DoD) — paced-breathing training for hyperarousal
- Printable sleep diary — for members who prefer paper
In their words
Reflections from former clients who chose to share their experience.
"Testimonials coming soon."
Former clients' reflections will appear here.
"Testimonials coming soon."
Former clients' reflections will appear here.
Testimonials are shared voluntarily by former clients with written permission; identifying details are changed or withheld. Individual experiences vary, and testimonials do not guarantee any particular result.
Coaching, keynotes & continuing education
Workshops, executive coaching, and CE-style clinician trainings — including Sleep Enhancement for Trauma Recovery — live on the training site at mikalrasheed.com.