01 · Who JoAnn works with

JoAnn works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and family conflicts

JoAnn lists 5 specialisms and 4 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects JoAnn chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In JoAnn's own words

What JoAnn says about the work

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

I am licensed in South Carolina with 32 years of professional work experience. My purpose is to help you learn to take back control of your thoughts, emotions, and actions so you can achieve the results you want. Taking charge of your life requires you to first look within. Where are you at now? What is your story? Where do you want to go? Our work together will encourage a shift in your thinking, giving you the power to identify new skills and greater self-awareness, resulting in a transformation you never imagined. Stop seeing yourself as broken or something needing to be fixed. In the story of your life, you are an authentic character with worth and value just as you are. Through curiosity, self-compassion, acceptance, courage, and vulnerability, growth and desired change is inevitable. You will become empowered to find relief from stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, and low levels of confidence. It is my belief and intention to help you see how the challenges and obstacles you have experienced have strengthened you, not broken you. Taking this brave first step to look within is your first step to becoming who you want to be.

JoAnn Ristau, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How JoAnn works

The 2 approaches JoAnn lists, in plain English

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

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

JoAnn 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 JoAnn'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 JoAnn at this point.

2. Naming JoAnn specifically

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

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 JoAnn

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

• “With 33 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

South Carolina

Licence

SC LPC 2703

Licence number

2703

Licence expires

31 Aug 2027

NPI

1891154274

Years in practice

33

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

JoAnn'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 JoAnn. 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.