Practitioner record · Checked 9 Oct 2026

Myrna Pledger has been in practice 21 years and is licensed in Illinois. Myrna lists stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and family conflicts among 26 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.

Everything below is either quoted from Myrna's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.

21years in practice
26subjects listed
10approaches listed

01 · Who Myrna works with

Myrna works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and family conflicts

Myrna lists 14 specialisms and 12 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Myrna chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

Specialisms
  • Stress, Anxiety
  • Relationship issues
  • Family conflicts
  • Trauma and abuse
  • Depression
  • Addictions
  • Grief
  • Intimacy-related issues
  • Parenting issues
  • Anger management
  • Self esteem
  • Career difficulties
  • Coping with life changes
  • Compassion fatigue
Also experienced with
  • Avoidant personality
  • Codependency
  • Commitment issues
  • Dependent personality
  • Hospice and end-of-life counseling
  • Isolation / loneliness
  • Multicultural concerns
  • Personality disorders
  • Prejudice and discrimination
  • Self-love
  • Sexual assault and abuse
  • Social anxiety and phobia

02 · In Myrna's own words

What Myrna says about the work

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

I was trained as a Community Counselor and as such, I am prepared to work with the issues and concerns that occur with individuals and families in the community, and everyone lives in a community. As you can imagine, there are not many individual situations I have not encountered. In the beginning of my career, I worked with children behaving violently or inappropriately in school environments primarily. I realized that the child experiencing mental health difficulties is a member of a family experiencing mental health difficulties as a system. I believe that most maladaptive behavior is learned from the family environment or may be from inherited tendencies. I also believe that many problems you see in both children and adults are the results of having to be in close proximity to someone who is a narcissist or someone who is exhibiting enough narcissistic traits to be dangerous to those with whom they associate.

I am licensed in the state of Illinois as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and have over 10 years of experience working as a Counselor. I specialize in treating survivors of narcissistic abuse both mental, spiritual and physical. I have worked with clients with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, relationship issues, parenting problems, career challenges, OCD, and ADHD. I also helped many people who have experienced physical trauma or emotional abuse. I am faith-based as I myself believe it is important to recognize The Creator when attempting to offer help to His people.

My therapy style is truth-based, educationally focused and kind. I believe in treating anyone in the manner that I would want to be treated if I was in their situation. I don't believe in labels, but I do believe in presenting examples of others who have overcome similar circumstances. I am primarily faith or Christian based. I am solutions focused and combine cognitive-behavioral and rational-emotive therapy. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs.

It takes courage to seek a more fulfilling and happier life and to take the first steps towards change. If you are ready to take that step, I am here to support and empower you.

I look forward to working with you!

Myrna Pledger, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Myrna works

The 9 approaches Myrna lists, in plain English

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

  • Jungian Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Myrna 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 Myrna'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 Myrna at this point.

  2. Naming Myrna specifically

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

  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 Myrna

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

  • “With 21 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
LCPC
Licensed in
Illinois
Licence
IL LCPC 180.006251
Licence number
180.006251
Licence expires
31 Mar 2027
NPI
1750857942
Years in practice
21
Gender
Female
Languages
English
International clients
Not accepted
Listed since
9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Myrna'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 Myrna. 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.

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