01 · Who Geraldine works with

Geraldine works with addictions, relationship issues and family conflicts

Geraldine lists 14 specialisms. Specialisms are the subjects Geraldine chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Geraldine's own words

What Geraldine says about the work

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

Life seems to continuously present challenges that seem overwhelming and difficult. Sometimes they catch up with you creating a stuck feeling. You find yourself taking side roads looking for relief while developing unhealthful coping skills to manage. Asking for help is always difficult, yet here you are taking a risk and reaching out.

My belief is that most people already have within them what they need to meet life challenges. You need a therapeutic approach and support to find your inner strengths, focus and desired outcome. I will meet you where you are at, provide a calm, nonjudgmental safe space. I will help you learn to quiet your mind, live in the moment, be present for your life and identify the tangible steps you need to take to achieve your desired goals.

I have over 30 years’ experience as a Licensed Social Worker working with Depression, Relationship challenges, Substance abuse, Dependencies, Co-occurring Disorders, Self Esteem and Anxiety. I draw from Cognitive Behavioral Treatment, Dialectic Behavioral Treatment, Mindfulness, Solution Focused Treatment and Dealing with Life on Life’s terms. My experience is extensive in Individual, Group, Family and Couples counseling. I have worked with ages 12 to 95 in settings of outpatient, residential, in-home, and inpatient both community based and hospital setting. My style is eclectic and driven by the unique needs of each individual. The treatment approach must match your needs. I listen for your strengths, patterns, and the internal dialog your story presents. I listen for the best way to approach helping you create a new chapter in your story.

My approach is to be present with you, respectful of you as a unique individual. I have been told I can be challenging in a “Carefrontational” way that feels safe. I will work hard to engage you in this joint venture to look at things in your life that may be getting in your way of being your best self. We will come up with a plan and goals to achieve what you want to work on.

Now that you have made the decision to seek therapeutic support. I want to help you achieve it. I look forward to working with you.

Geraldine Leary, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Geraldine works

The 6 approaches Geraldine lists, in plain English

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

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.

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

Geraldine 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 Geraldine'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 Geraldine at this point.

2. Naming Geraldine specifically

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

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 Geraldine

Built from what Geraldine actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Geraldine's - Geraldine 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 30 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

Arizona

Licence

AZ LCSW LCSW-3950

Licence number

LCSW-3950

Licence expires

31 Oct 2026

NPI

1083808943

Years in practice

30

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Geraldine'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 Geraldine. 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.