01 · Who Jonathan works with

Jonathan works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and trauma and abuse

Jonathan lists 14 specialisms and 46 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Jonathan chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Jonathan's own words

What Jonathan says about the work

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

I've been working as a social worker for the past 13 years. I'm a big believer in strength-centered therapy. My goal is be 100% in your corner. It's the coolest thing. When you have someone that is 100% in your corner, with no judgment- then that gives you a new kind of freedom. Being free to really figure out all this ...stuff... Why we are the way we are, why we self-sabotage, why we feel guilty or ashamed.

Then we can get on to the good stuff - how do we change. Just thinking of being a different way feels overwhelming right? Well it all comes down to Baby Steps. Just like in building a muscle, we put it under a little more stress than it's used to, (or time under tension as I like to think about it) and then give it space and time to relax. Most of us struggle in these two areas. Either we feel flattened by the huge amount of stress were under, or we feel utterly incapable of handling the littlest thing. Very few of us are in the perimeter of eustress (that desirable and elusive point of positive, challenging, rewarding stress). And what about time for recovery?! Without time built in for recovery, our muscles work themselves until they break apart. But with too much time in recovery, they get lethargic and weak. We are exactly the same way. We keep justifying pushing ourselves a little harder a little longer and unto a myriad of physical and emotional problems.

I get it. I've been there. Some days I'm still there.

Anyway, where was I? Right yup I remember. (Clears throat) I also practice motivational interviewing, basically the skill to help you figure out what you're going to do, and then do it. It really just speeds up the natural process by like 6 months. I'm a trauma therapist specialized in IRRT (Imaging rescripting reprocessing therapy). Which is great for feelings of shame, guilt, abuse, nightmares, and kids. Sometimes when you do trauma therapy there are unintentional skeletons that come out. IRRT is good at minimizing this. It's also good at getting results, often in as little as one session.

Let's see what else, I'm very visual, I'm very ADHD, I use a lot of metaphors. In my mind if I can see it, then I can explain it, and I can also remember it forever. Not everyone else operates like this, but a good portion of us do.

Lastly, I want you to know that this is not just a job for me. Nor is it a calling. It's kind of... Well, Fun. We are all journeying through our own life puzzles. And there are so many clues just everywhere to help us find our way!

Jonathan 'Riley' Murdock, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Jonathan works

The 7 approaches Jonathan lists, in plain English

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

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.

Narrative Therapy

Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.

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

Jonathan 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 Jonathan'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 Jonathan at this point.

2. Naming Jonathan specifically

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

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 Jonathan

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

• “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

Idaho

Licence

ID LCSW LCSW - 44539

Licence number

LCSW - 44539

Licence expires

18 Oct 2027

NPI

1912205295

Years in practice

4

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Jonathan'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 Jonathan. 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.