Practitioner record · Checked 9 Oct 2026
John Berst has been in practice 10 years and is licensed in Michigan. John lists stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and family conflicts among 17 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.
Everything below is either quoted from John's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.
01 · Who John works with
John lists 17 specialisms. Specialisms are the subjects John chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.
02 · In John's own words
Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.
Help me to understand your story. Help me to help you find the balance, joy and serenity we all crave. Join me on a journey that begins with your strength and courage in taking the first steps of thoughtful exploration into revealing your best self. I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) with over ten years experience in the state of Michigan, while my experience helping people goes back more than 30 years. I earned a Master's degree from Western Michigan University in 2010 as a way of bringing my years of diverse experience and training to the level of professional ethics and practices that is such an important part of state licensure. My training and education are ongoing and constant. This nurtures my enthusiasm and dedication to the art of counseling and my ability to be the best counselor I can be for my clients. My approach is person centered first, as I need to determine a plan based on you and your own unique story. Whether your concerns are fleeting or more pervasive and troubling, I can help you explore what will actually work for you. I prefer to stay grounded in practical, solution focused exploration and therapy. This can allow therapy to resonate while remaining grounded in the clients own experience and needs. I've worked with people of all ages from all walks of life and each experience has taught me to be a better counselor while finding what was universal to the human experience, and I continue to learn, adapt and grow, as a therapist, from the individual and specific experience that is that one person's story. Much of what it means to be human is universal to us all, yet each and every one of us is an original. I look forward to working with you.
John Berst, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026
03 · What happens next
John 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 John's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.
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 John at this point.
BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for John 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 John.
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.
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.
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.
04 · Before you commit
Built from what John actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not John's - John has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.
“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.
“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.
05 · Practical details
06 · Provenance
John'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 John. 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.
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