01 · Who Miriam works with

Miriam works with stress, Anxiety, LGBT and trauma and abuse

Miriam lists 15 specialisms and 36 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Miriam chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Miriam's own words

What Miriam says about the work

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

Welcome! I believe one of the most important things I can offer as a counselor is my presence. When we meet, our time together is yours. My goal is to create a space where you feel heard, respected, and comfortable being yourself-even when you aren't quite sure what you are thinking or feeling yet.

I approach counseling with curiosity and encourage my clients to do the same. It can be easy to get caught up in what we think we “should” be feeling, how we “should” be handling something, or where we “should” be in life. Rather than judging those thoughts and emotions, I believe we can become curious about them. What are they telling you? Where might they come from? What patterns are showing up? Most importantly, what would you like to be different?

I believe you are the expert on your own life. I bring my training, experience, observations, and ideas to our work, but I don't believe my role is to tell you how to live your life. My role is to walk alongside you as we explore what is happening, discover your strengths, and find approaches that work for you. I may share something I notice, ask you to consider another perspective, or gently challenge an assumption, but you ultimately decide where we go.

Therapy doesn't always have to be just talking, either. I believe creativity, curiosity, movement, humor, and play can have a place in therapy at any age. Sometimes a creative or experiential process allows thoughts and emotions to emerge naturally and gives us an opportunity to explore something that can be difficult to put into words. Other times, you may simply need a place to talk, vent, and feel heard. We can start with what you need that day.

Throughout my career, I have worked with people across the lifespan and with individuals and families navigating many different life experiences. My background includes trauma and adverse childhood experiences, substance use concerns, parenting and family relationships, foster care and child protection involvement, domestic violence, military and veteran experiences, first responders, assault, accident-related trauma, birth trauma, and perinatal and postpartum concerns. I have also worked with single-parent, divorced, blended, foster, and LGBTQ+ families.

My approach is integrative, which means I don't believe one type of therapy is right for every person. My training and experience include Internal Family Systems-informed work, Solution-Focused Therapy, somatic approaches, Filial Play Therapy, Trauma-Focused Yoga, parent education, play-based and creative approaches. We can draw from different tools depending on your needs, goals, and comfort level.

I earned my Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwest Nazarene University, with an emphasis in play therapy in 2019, and my Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Idaho, with an emphasis in substance abuse treatment in 2015. I consider myself a lifelong learner and genuinely enjoy learning from the people I have the privilege of meeting.

Healing is a journey filled with moments that hurt, moments that bring joy, and every emotion in between. You don't have to arrive at counseling knowing exactly what needs to change or even where to begin.

Wherever we begin, we begin with you.

Miriam Staffen, on the BetterHelp listing · read 6 Nov 2026

03 · How Miriam works

The 9 approaches Miriam lists, in plain English

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

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.

Internal Family SystemsIFS

Treats the mind as made up of parts - the critic, the one who withdraws, the one that keeps everything running - each of which is trying to protect you. The work is getting to know them rather than overruling them.

Also listed

• Somatic Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Miriam 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 Miriam'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 Miriam at this point.

2. Naming Miriam specifically

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

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 Miriam

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

• “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

LPC

Licensed in

Idaho

Licence

ID LPC LPC-7427

Licence number

LPC-7427

Licence expires

4 Sep 2028

NPI

1295382299

Years in practice

3

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

13 Oct 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Miriam'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 6 Nov 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 Miriam. 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.