01 · Who Brian works with

Brian works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and trauma and abuse

Brian lists 14 specialisms and 18 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Brian chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Brian's own words

What Brian says about the work

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

I work with people who need help with estrangement, addiction, anxiety, grief, anger, and depression. Are you wondering if you need rehab? I have done over 7000 substance abuse assessments in my career.

If you are a parent struggling to cope with estrangement from your child, I'd be happy to consult with you about working together. I run a program called Parents Living After Child Estrangement (PLACE).

I utilize Solution-Focused, Narrative, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies primarily. My work emphasizes practical, specific tools for coping with/healing from distress.

I’ve trained with internationally-renowned therapists, including David Epston (co-author of Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends) and Dr. Linda Metcalf (author of Parenting Toward Solutions). Among my peers, I’m considered a “go-to” counselor. The life-changing mentoring and guidance I received from counselors, professors and peers led me to write The Conflict Etiquette Handbook. I am passionate and ready to help.

Brian Briscoe, on the BetterHelp listing · read 5 Nov 2026

03 · How Brian works

The 5 approaches Brian lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Brian lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Brian'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 Brian runs a session.

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.

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.

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.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Brian 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 Brian'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 Brian at this point.

2. Naming Brian specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Brian 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 Brian.

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 Brian

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

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Narrative 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 16 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

LPC

Licensed in

Texas

Licence

TX LPC 64576

Licence number

64576

Licence expires

31 Aug 2027

NPI

1487970844

Years in practice

16

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

31 Oct 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Brian'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 5 Nov 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 Brian. 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.