01 · Who Donald works with

Donald works with stress, Anxiety and trauma and abuse

Donald lists 2 specialisms and 19 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Donald chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Donald's own words

What Donald says about the work

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

Hello, I’m Dr. Donald Mattson, a licensed professional counselor with over 20 years of experience helping adults manage anxiety, trauma, stress, mood difficulties, and life and relationship transitions. I’m also a published author of numerous journal articles in the expressive arts and a book on anxiety tools coming out this spring.

My approach is straightforward, honest, practical, and sometimes even playful. I draw from cognitive behavioral, solution-focused, existential, expressive arts, and nervous-system regulation approaches, tailoring therapy to your individual needs. I can offer you real-world, evidence-based tools to help manage your stress, anxiety, and mood conditions.

Together, we’ll identify what is keeping you stuck, build on your strengths, and develop useful strategies for everyday life.

You don’t need to have everything figured out-we can start exactly where you are.

Donald Mattson, on the BetterHelp listing · read 6 Nov 2026

03 · How Donald works

The 5 approaches Donald lists, in plain English

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

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.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Donald 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 Donald'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 Donald at this point.

2. Naming Donald specifically

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

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 Donald

Built from what Donald actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Donald's - Donald 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 20 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

Michigan

Licence

MI LPC 6401012474, MN LPCC 5945

Licence number

6401012474

Licence expires

6 Aug 2028

NPI

1770878282

Years in practice

20

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

6 Sep 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Donald'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 6 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 Donald. 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.