01 · Who Joyce works with

Joyce works with relationship issues, trauma and abuse and intimacy-related issues

Joyce lists 9 specialisms and 30 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Joyce chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Joyce's own words

What Joyce says about the work

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

I am a family and marriage therapist licensed in North Carolina with over 14 years of experience working as a therapist for those of all ages. I have worked with clients with a wide range of concerns including relationship issues, parenting problems, family discord, career challenges, assertivness, and an array of sexual functions and dysfunction. I also helped many people who have experienced physical trauma or emotional abuse.

My therapy style is present and interactive. I believe in treating anyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion, while also being honest. My approach combines cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, psychodynamic and rational-emotive therapy. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs.

As a therapist, I hope to help motivate people in ascertaining their inner strengths and abilities and discovering what truly inspires them. I aim to provide a stimulating and supportive environment that encourages clients to take initiative in their own lives, while fostering confidence to realize their full potential.

I am here

Joyce Washington, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Joyce works

The 6 approaches Joyce lists, in plain English

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

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.

Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT

A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.

Emotionally Focused TherapyEFT

Built for couples and rooted in attachment: the recurring argument is treated as a cycle two people are stuck in rather than as one person's fault. Sessions work to interrupt the cycle and get to what each person is actually asking for underneath it.

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.

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

Joyce 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 Joyce'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 Joyce at this point.

2. Naming Joyce specifically

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

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

2 questions worth asking Joyce

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

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LMFT

Licensed in

North Carolina

Licence

NC LMFT 1538

Licence number

1538

Licence expires

1 Jul 2027

NPI

1700121811

Years in practice

14

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Joyce'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 Joyce. 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.