01 · Who Bonnie works with

Bonnie works with stress, Anxiety, grief and self esteem

Bonnie lists 14 specialisms and 30 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.

I have over 30 years experience as a therapist and over the years I have worked with older and young adults in various settings dealing with difficult issues:

Job related; Peer related; Life changes; adults with a Psych History; Coping with difficult situations; Adults & Elderly living alone; Decisions re: someone needing group care, nursing or rest home care; Managing Finances; setting Goals for self; considering School and Career choices, finding Meaning and Purpose for your life.

In addition, I have bought and sold houses in the past and can help you get through the very stressful experience of buying, selling and/or moving with minimal stress and anxiety – this is listed as one of the TOP major stressful events in your life to cope with!

GOAL OF THERAPY For you, the Client to identify what you see as the problem you want to address and what goals you want to accomplish. You decide what type of therapy you feel most comfortable with and together we identify initial goals and strategies to achieve them. Sometimes this can lead to you later on identifying other goals you want to achieve as therapy progresses.

Sometimes you are in crisis mode; sometimes you just need someone who can help you make changes to achieve your goals; sometimes you just need someone to talk to that helps you sort issues out and make good decisions.

Whatever the reason – let’s talk – we can find the way to make you feel good about yourself, your life and your future!

Bonnie Pinto-Swift, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Oct 2026

03 · How Bonnie works

The 6 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Also listed

• Existential 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 Client-Centred 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 40 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

LICSW

Licensed in

Massachusetts

Licence

MA LICSW 1016610

Licence number

1016610

Licence expires

27 Aug 2027

NPI

1619090685

Years in practice

40

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 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 7 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.