01 · Who John works with

John works with LGBT, family conflicts and trauma and abuse

John lists 17 specialisms and 20 further focus areas. 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

What John says about the work

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

My name is John Henry, M.Ed., LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist). I have practiced as a mental health clinician for thirty-one years. Prior to working in the mental health field, I was an educator for thirteen years. During ten of those thirteen years, I acquired an expertise in early childhood education where I conducted parenting workshops and provided supervision and consultation in early childhood education classrooms. My clinical mental health experience includes working with trauma, LGBQT issues, anxiety, depression, work issues, relationships including couples work, dealing with parenting challenges, and providing consultation for twenty years to teachers in Oakland, California after school programs. I have provided numerous parenting workshops over the years for assisting parents in developing effective communication skills with their children. These workshops included managing the child's behavior, understanding the underlying feelings and meaning of the behavior, and problem resolution. I have extensive work in providing individual, adolescent, family, couples, and adult therapy. For about twenty-three years, I provided training and supervision to graduate school interns and mental health clinicians.

My experience is varied and across settings. I have worked mostly within a community mental health organization with additional experience in latency age children in a group home setting and as an adolescent and family therapist in a psychiatric hospital setting. My theoretical approach is psychodynamic that focuses on the clients relationships with others in their life that impact their daily life functioning. Relationships are a key element in how we relate and interact with others. During the sessions, I am compassionate and empathic . I also use eclectic approaches such as trauma focused treatment, cognitive behavioral strategies, family structural work, solution based therapy, and client centered approaches.

John Henry, on the BetterHelp listing · read 10 Oct 2026

03 · How John works

The 6 approaches John lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods John lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not John'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 John runs a session.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Reads present-day relationship difficulty through the lens of how safety and closeness were learned early on. The therapeutic relationship itself is treated as part of the work, because it is where the pattern tends to show up first.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 John at this point.

2. Naming John specifically

   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.

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 John

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.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Attachment-Based 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

LMFT

Licensed in

California

Licence

CA LMFT 31276

Licence number

31276

Licence expires

30 Nov 2027

NPI

1184771354

Years in practice

34

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

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 10 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.