01 · Who Kurt works with

Kurt works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and parenting issues

Kurt lists 5 specialisms and 39 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Kurt chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Kurt's own words

What Kurt says about the work

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

Hi, I’m Kurt Ruffley, founder of RuffStuff Counseling PLLC. I specialize in providing accessible, trauma-informed therapy for veterans, children, and underserved communities. With a background in both military service and education, I bring a grounded, compassionate approach to counseling that honors resilience and fosters growth. My practice integrates telehealth convenience with occasional in-person sessions in Montana’s Flathead Valley, and remote access to rural Montana ensuring flexibility and connection. At RuffStuff Counseling, I focus on creating a seamless client experience-from secure HIPAA-compliant intake to personalized care planning. I incorporate mindfulness-based approaches to help clients build emotional awareness, reduce stress, and reconnect with their inner strength. Whether you're navigating life transitions, anxiety, grief, or identity development, I’m here to walk alongside you with purpose and authenticity. I’m deeply committed to community outreach, with a focus on supporting individuals experiencing homelessness, veterans reintegrating into civilian life, and children and young adults with disabilities and trauma experiences. My work is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves access to compassionate, effective mental health care-no matter their circumstances.

If you’re ready to take the next step toward healing and growth, I’d be honored to support you. Feel free to reach out or schedule a session-I look forward to connecting with you.

Kurt Ruffley, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Kurt works

The 6 approaches Kurt lists, in plain English

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

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.

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

Kurt 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 Kurt'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 Kurt at this point.

2. Naming Kurt specifically

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

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 Kurt

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

LCPC

Licensed in

Montana

Licence

MT LCPC BBH-LCPC-LIC-68359

Licence number

BBH-LCPC-LIC-68359

Licence expires

31 Dec 2026

NPI

1396454419

Years in practice

4

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

11 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Kurt'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 Kurt. 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.