01 · Who Charles works with

Charles works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and LGBT

Charles lists 19 specialisms and 38 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Charles chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Charles's own words

What Charles says about the work

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

Deeply passionate about social justice and facilitating and guiding positive change and development in the lives of others, I am thrilled to connect with you as you begin your journey inward. Healing is truly the risk of showing up for yourself and your resistance to temptation to go back to unsilenced needs, numbing out, disconnection, and erasure. As a black, gender non-binary Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), I have a personal stake and insight into the work I do. As you are aware, we are living in unprecedented times. My clinical practice aims to empower and heal individuals, families & communities through therapy, consulting, case management, training, & community outreach.

Since graduating with my Master's in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013, I have worked with folks across a wide array of presenting concerns, including managing symptoms of anxiety, mood dysregulation, and depression, healing with/from trauma, managing grief and loss, recovery from substance abuse and addiction, chronic illness, & LGBT issues. I work with clients at every stage of development in 1:1, couples, and family sessions. The feedback I receive from clients is that they find me to be innovative, caring and nonjudgmental, and they appreciate that I am responsive, honest and direct with them. You can expect me to walk with you through whatever difficulties you are facing and help you learn more about yourself and the way you interact with the world.

When we work together, I will tailor my approach to meet your needs and help you reach your goals. If you feel as though challenges are interfering with your sense of happiness and ability to function to your fullest potential, or if you are ready to alter your current life path, then I am available and able to assist you on your journey towards recovery. I can interact with you in whatever manner you are most comfortable. I find it helpful to participate in video sessions so that we can get to know each other better. But I am also available to you via phone and text if that is more comfortable for you.

I know how hard it can be to find a counselor who you feel a connection with and I would be honored to work with you through this stage of your life.

Charles Tyson, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Nov 2026

03 · How Charles works

The 9 approaches Charles lists, in plain English

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

Eye Movement Desensitisation and ReprocessingEMDR

A structured trauma protocol in which you hold a distressing memory in mind while following a repeated side-to-side cue. The mechanism is still debated; the outcome data in post-traumatic stress is strong enough that it appears in national treatment guidelines.

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.

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.

Also listed

• Existential Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Charles 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 Charles'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 Charles at this point.

2. Naming Charles specifically

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

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

3 questions worth asking Charles

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

• “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

Pennsylvania

Licence

MN LICSW 30273, PA LCSW CW020993

Licence number

CW020993

Licence expires

28 Feb 2027

NPI

1245879774

Years in practice

6

Gender

Non-binary

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Charles'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 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 Charles. 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.