01 · Who Caryn works with

Caryn works with stress, Anxiety, family conflicts and grief

Caryn lists 15 specialisms and 34 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Caryn chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Caryn's own words

What Caryn says about the work

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

Welcome to Better Help. I hope together we can work to improve your life!

My name is Caryn Kelley. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with many years of experience in different settings. I have a Masters of Social Work from Arizona State University and have been certified as a LCSW since 1988. In my practice I have seen clients struggling with self-esteem issues, family conflict, depression, anxiety, addiction and multiple medical issues. My approach utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, Client Centered, Empathetic Listening, Motivational Interviewing and Supportive allow my client's the space to explore life issues, gain much needed clarity and foster confidence to make changes. Our time together will be a safe place to vent, allow yourself to experience true emotions and gain insight and ability to trust your own thoughts, decisions and plans.

My counseling style will include time to get to know you, hear about your strengths and struggles, things that make you happy and areas that upset you. Then with a warm, caring style, we will further explore your challenges and concerns, perhaps offering a new viewpoint or path for you to follow to make changes. Sometimes having a kind, supportive person in your corner will be enough, other times some motivational conversation will be the flash point for change. I believe you have the inner strength in you, and with a positive therapeutic relationship, can find the inner strength to make positive changes.

I am looking forward to working with you to support you in taking the first steps toward a happier, more fulfilling life.

Caryn Kelley, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Caryn works

The 8 approaches Caryn lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Caryn lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Caryn'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 Caryn 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.

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.

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.

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

Caryn 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 Caryn'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 Caryn at this point.

2. Naming Caryn specifically

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

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

2 questions worth asking Caryn

Built from what Caryn actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Caryn's - Caryn 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 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

LCSW

Licensed in

Illinois

Licence

IL LCSW 149003207

Licence number

149003207

Licence expires

30 Nov 2027

NPI

1154763589

Years in practice

10

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Caryn'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 Caryn. 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.