01 · Who Colette works with

Colette works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and self esteem

Colette lists 16 specialisms and 29 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Colette chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Colette's own words

What Colette says about the work

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

Sometimes it’s hard to reach out for help when life gets difficult. I’m so glad you did, and I hope I can play a role in supporting and encouraging you. I’d like to help you learn and use strategies to address your concerns and problems, and to achieve satisfaction, fulfillment, and peace of mind.

The question I begin with is not “What is wrong with you?” but rather, “What has happened to you?” I want to establish a safe, nonjudgmental and compassionate space for my clients to share their personal stories and experiences. We will collaborate to weave together elements of patterns, strengths, and coping skills to increase self-awareness, improve relationships, and promote healing and growth.

Maybe you are struggling with anxiety or depression, or experiencing the effects of past or current trauma or abuse. Perhaps you are adjusting to an important life event such as the loss of a loved one or a significant relationship, a career change, a health issue. Maybe you are having difficulties in a significant relationship. I hope to be instrumental in your engagement in the dynamic process of creating positive change. I offer compassion and flexibility, knowledge and experience. I think humor, as well, is so important! It is a way to acknowledge that, although life can be painful, there is also joy to be found.

I have worked in the mental health field for 14 years. I am experienced and trained in evidence-based therapeutic modalities: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). I have worked with survivors of abuse, domestic violence, and trauma. I have worked with individuals with mood disorders, OCD, anxiety and depression, co-occurring disorders, and anger issues. I approach each client as a whole person, not just a set of diagnoses, and we work as a team, to match interventions with your particular needs.

I believe I have the skills and experience, and most importantly, the desire, to help you. Thank you for reaching out!

Colette Spaulding, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Colette works

The 7 approaches Colette lists, in plain English

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Colette 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 Colette'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 Colette at this point.

2. Naming Colette specifically

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

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 Colette

Built from what Colette actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Colette's - Colette 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 15 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

LMSW

Licensed in

Michigan

Licence

MI LMSW 6​8​0​1​0​9​0​7​2​3

Licence number

6​8​0​1​0​9​0​7​2​3

Licence expires

1 Feb 2029

NPI

1407091317

Years in practice

15

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Colette'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 Colette. 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.