01 · Who Bonnie works with

Bonnie works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and grief

Bonnie lists 5 specialisms and 48 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Bonnie chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Bonnie's own words

What Bonnie says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

Have you been the one everyone relies on for so long that you barely remember what it feels like to have someone there for you?

Many people spend years taking care of responsibilities, supporting others, and pushing through challenges without stopping to notice how much they’re carrying. From the outside, they appear capable and strong. Inside, though, they may feel worn down, overwhelmed, or unsure how things became so heavy.

If this resonates with you, please know you’re not the only one who feels this way-and you don’t have to keep handling it all on your own.

My name is Bonnie Christensen, and I’m a licensed therapist with over two decades of experience helping people through difficult and uncertain times in their lives. My path into this work was shaped not only by professional training, but also by personal experiences that taught me how easy it is to take on too much for too long.

I understand how stress, responsibility, and life changes can slowly build until you begin to feel emotionally drained or disconnected from yourself.

Many of the individuals I meet with in therapy are intelligent, thoughtful people who have spent much of their lives being the dependable one. They’re the person others count on, the one who keeps things running smoothly, the one who tries to hold everything together.

But after years of putting others first, it’s common to reach a point where you feel exhausted, discouraged, or uncertain about who you are anymore.

In my practice, I support adults who are navigating challenges such as:

• Persistent worry or anxiety • Feeling emotionally depleted or burned out • Depression or loss of motivation • Grief and major life changes • Difficult relationship patterns • Struggles with confidence or self-worth • The strain of caring for others while neglecting your own needs

People often begin therapy feeling stuck or unsure how to move forward. Together, we work on creating a clearer understanding of what you’re experiencing and finding practical ways to help you feel steadier, stronger, and more connected to your life again.

My approach combines well-established therapeutic methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and mindfulness-based practices. Just as importantly, I believe therapy should feel supportive, respectful, and tailored to who you are as a person.

This is your time and your space.

You don’t have to hide your feelings, explain them perfectly, or pretend everything is fine. Therapy offers an opportunity to slow down, talk openly, and begin untangling the things that have been weighing on you.

Some people seek therapy because they’ve lost someone important. Others feel like they’ve lost the version of life they once imagined. And many simply feel tired of facing everything alone.

No matter where you are right now, your experiences matter, and you deserve support.

Taking the first step toward therapy can feel uncertain, but it’s also a powerful act of caring for yourself. If we work together, we’ll move forward at a pace that feels comfortable, focusing on what helps you regain a sense of stability, clarity, and hope.

I’m glad you found your way here, and it would be a privilege to support you as you begin reconnecting with yourself and the life you want to build.

Bonnie Christensen, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Bonnie works

The 14 approaches Bonnie lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Bonnie lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Bonnie's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Bonnie runs a session.

Acceptance and Commitment TherapyACT

Rather than trying to argue a painful thought away, ACT works on loosening its grip and getting on with what matters to you anyway. Sessions spend real time naming your values, then building action around them while difficult feelings are still present.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Reads present-day relationship difficulty through the lens of how safety and closeness were learned early on. The therapeutic relationship itself is treated as part of the work, because it is where the pattern tends to show up first.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT

A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.

Emotionally Focused TherapyEFT

Built for couples and rooted in attachment: the recurring argument is treated as a cycle two people are stuck in rather than as one person's fault. Sessions work to interrupt the cycle and get to what each person is actually asking for underneath it.

The Gottman Method

A couples approach built on decades of observational research into what distinguishes relationships that last. Structured and assessment-led: it maps friendship, conflict and shared meaning, then works on the specific mechanics of how the two of you argue.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Narrative Therapy

Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Works on the assumption that current patterns - in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself - have a history, and that seeing the history loosens the pattern. Less structured than CBT, usually longer, and more interested in what comes up unbidden than in a weekly agenda.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

Internal Family SystemsIFS

Treats the mind as made up of parts - the critic, the one who withdraws, the one that keeps everything running - each of which is trying to protect you. The work is getting to know them rather than overruling them.

Also listed

• Existential Therapy
• Jungian Therapy
• Somatic Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Bonnie practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Bonnie's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Bonnie at this point.

2. Naming Bonnie specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Bonnie is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Bonnie.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Bonnie

Built from what Bonnie actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Bonnie's - Bonnie has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Attachment-Based Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 20 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LMHC

Licensed in

Florida

Licence

FL LMHC MH10005

Licence number

MH10005

Licence expires

31 Mar 2027

NPI

1972837656

Years in practice

20

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Bonnie's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Bonnie. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.