01 · Who Joy works with

Joy works with stress, Anxiety, LGBT and grief

Joy lists 19 specialisms and 20 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Joy chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Joy's own words

What Joy says about the work

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

Seeking out therapy is an important decision, and it is imperative that you feel comfortable so that you can do the work necessary to help improve your life. Everyone goes through challenges and there is nothing wrong with seeking out extra support when you need it. My goal is to help you attain a better understanding of yourself, to help you develop new skills, improve your coping, and find resolution for the issues you may be facing. My approach is collaborative, and I work hard to create a supportive, accepting, and safe space where you will feel heard, valued, and empowered. I use a range of therapeutic techniques and offer a highly personalized approach tailored to your individual needs. With 27+ years of experience, I have provided therapy for adults with a variety of issues including anxiety, depression, life transitions, grief, family conflict, sexuality, adjustment, LGBTQIA+ and relationship concerns. I am passionate about social justice, my work and making the world a better place for all. I am an anti-racist, anti-sexist, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and sex positive clinician. I work with adult clients from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds

Joy Close, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Joy works

The 5 approaches Joy lists, in plain English

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

Acceptance and Commitment TherapyACT

Rather than trying to argue a painful thought away, ACT works on loosening its grip and getting on with what matters to you anyway. Sessions spend real time naming your values, then building action around them while difficult feelings are still present.

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”.

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.

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

Joy 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 Joy'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 Joy at this point.

2. Naming Joy specifically

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

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 Joy

Built from what Joy actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Joy's - Joy has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Solution-Focused Brief 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 28 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

North Carolina

Licence

NC LCSW C003042

Licence number

C003042

Licence expires

10 Nov 2027

NPI

1285730937

Years in practice

28

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Joy'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 Joy. 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.