Practitioner record · Checked 9 Oct 2026
Neal Harris has been in practice 40 years and is licensed in Illinois. Neal lists stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and grief among 58 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.
Everything below is either quoted from Neal'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.
01 · Who Neal works with
Neal lists 17 specialisms and 41 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Neal chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.
02 · In Neal's own words
Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.
Neal Harris is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, with a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. He has practiced the art of psychotherapy for 40 years. Neal has been a workshop leader in the holistic health and self-enrichment fields since 1985. He owned/directed his own holistic education center for 25 years.
Neal's experience stems from training in the United States, China and India. In 1986, he was a member of the first bodywork team invited to a teaching hospital in China to study Tuina, a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine and massage. In 1991, he traveled to India to study with the meditation master and sage, H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji).
Neal, until recently, had been teaching Reiki (energy therapy) for almost 30 years and providing Reiki therapy for almost 40 years.
He is the author of the book, Pocket Stress Manager & Labyrinth Guide, as well as the relaxation CD, Exit The Storm. Neal as well as his holistic work has been featured on national television including WTTW, Fox, NBC, Discovery Channel and more. He has also been featured in several national magazines including Better Homes & Gardens, Spa Finder, New Age Magazine, Utne Reader and others.
In 1997, Neal was the originator of the Earth-Wisdom Labyrinth; Illinois’ first permanent outdoor labyrinth located in Elgin, IL. He has been a consultant on, and the creator of other public labyrinths, fabric traveling labyrinths, finger labyrinths (including his patented brain balancing, communication enhancing double finger labyrinth design known as the Intuipath®) and manuals for creating outdoor labyrinths. For nearly 40 years, Neal led labyrinth workshops around the country and is a founding member of The International Labyrinth Society.
In his private therapy practice, Neal assists those individuals who are experiencing a variety of concerns including life-affirming conditions such as Diabetes, Cancer, Heart Disease as well as anxiety, depression, relationship issues, LGBTQ+ concerns and a host of other issues. To promote healing on many levels, he uses relaxation and meditation training, the Emotional Freedom Technique, Graphotherapy and other targeted practices to assist his clients. This work explores integrative medical options, as well as the psychology and spirituality of illness and recovery.
Neal also headed up a 4-year national research study to determine the behavioral effects of his Intuipath® design on children and adolescents with ADHD.
Besides his counseling practice, he is also a Certified Pickleball Coach; teaching folks to play smarter not harder for the past 11 years.
Neal Harris, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026
03 · How Neal works
These are the clinical methods Neal lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Neal'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 Neal runs a session.
04 · What happens next
Neal 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 Neal's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.
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 Neal at this point.
BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Neal 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 Neal.
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.
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.
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
Built from what Neal actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Neal's - Neal 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 40 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
07 · Provenance
Neal'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 Neal. 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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