01 · Who Denise works with

Denise works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and grief

Denise lists 18 specialisms and 24 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Denise chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Denise's own words

What Denise says about the work

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

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have been licensed since 1993; however, I've worked in the field of Social Work since 1986, starting with an undergraduate internship with DSS. My formal experience, however, officially started in 1990 after receiving a Masters in Social Work. I have worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings, including a state psychiatric hospital in NC, a medical hospital in SC, on a military base in VA and at several outpatient agencies in PA. Due to my husband's job, I have moved to and worked in four states over the past 29 years. I have worked with children with behavioral issues; long-term psychiatric males; hospice patients; children with developmental issues; State and Federal Inmates; Military service men, women, children, couples and families; domestic violence; addictions; and people dealing with grief, anxiety and PTSD.

I continue to attend a variety of seminars to keep my SW License current and have attended many medical, psychological, social work and ethics conferences in order to become more socially & culturally diverse and to enhance my knowledge outside of my typical wheelhouse, which is long-term psychiatric patients; however, I am not currently working in an inpatient setting.

I look forward to learning about my clients' needs and typically operate with "client goals" in mind, using a variety of clinical techniques. I prefer to assess the individual first and then include them in the decision-making for which therapeutic work to engage. If that doesn't work, we move to something else. It's important to build rapport with a client before jumping into therapy. As Stephen Covey would say, "Diagnose before prescribing."

Fun facts about me: I have been teaching for the past 11 years in the Home School network in SC, and have taught many different classes, from Creative Crafting to Egyptology to Basic Sign Language to Creative Writing to The Solar System and a few others (I have many interests). I have also taught Psychology 101 and Sociology 101 at a community college in NC. Lastly, I have published two children's books: "Turtle Gliding" in 2009 and "Why Does God Pull Teeth?" in 2018, with each book being inspired by one of my children.

I respect anyone who has the courage to seek counseling, because none of us can do life without other people and sometimes their help. Therapy is like going to the gym. Sometimes you dread the thought of going, but once you get there, you're glad you went!

Denise Owen, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Oct 2026

03 · How Denise works

The 9 approaches Denise lists, in plain English

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

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.

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.

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.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Denise 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 Denise'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 Denise at this point.

2. Naming Denise specifically

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

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 Denise

Built from what Denise actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Denise's - Denise 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 34 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

LCSW

Licensed in

North Carolina

Licence

NC LCSW C001100

Licence number

C001100

Licence expires

1 Jan 2028

NPI

1841965597

Years in practice

34

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Denise'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 Denise. 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.