01 · Who Peter works with

Peter works with sleeping disorders, career difficulties and coaching

Peter lists 9 specialisms and 48 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Peter chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Peter's own words

What Peter says about the work

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

I help clients improve attention (including ADHD), autism, anxiety, pain, improve sleep, and work with their careers or executive coaching. I work more on cognitive skills with clients.

I work with clients who want to use mindfulness and self-regulation tools like heart rate biofeedback or sound therapies to improve the way they regulate their attention, stress, and memory. The methods I use are proven in studies to generally increase memory 11-29% in healthy adults and adults with ADHD, lower anxiety reactions by 86%, lower chronic pain 77%, help people fall asleep faster (but these are general statistics in studies, and individual results vary). People that work with me learn to notice how they are speeding up or slowing down their heart and brain patterns to create more balance on purpose. We use a brain health assessment from a respected clinic to guide how you are creating more balance.

The way that I can help best is on a skills basis for learning to regulate heart and brain patterns easier for your needs and for more calm attention, sleep, and other things. It is very skills based, and less oriented to being a free flow relationship like some therapists.

Most people feel results right away, and It usually takes 12-20 sessions for people to develop a new "muscle memory" of how they balance their stress reactions and attention with their heart rhythms for attention (but they still need to think about it in most situations). It helps anxiety, sleep, work performance, memory, etc..

It also takes people about 30 sessions (including homework times that accelerate things) to feel a sense that they can do it intuitively or automatically in most situations.

We can also use brain health assessments from a respected neurology, psychiatry, and psychological testing clinic called The Amen Clinics. I can then recommend custom brain training or mindfulness techniques that fit your brain patterns. It also very clearly shows patterns in your personal life and the counseling that we can use to increase your sense of balance.

I also recommend people look at brain rhythms training with sounds with tools I can give that are free, or look at buying The Heart Math Inner Balance at www.heartmath.com. I have taught people how to use these as a way to increase their self regulation. I have taught at The University of Minnesota Medical Center and elsewhere.

I work with individuals around their general lifestyle too, with deeper insights in to their patterns. I enjoy helping people improve communication, emotional balance, anxiety, attention, sleep, and overall well-being. My style is practical, collaborative, and focused on helping insights come together naturally through conversation. I also incorporate brain science, mindfulness, and creative ideas that can help individuals and couples build greater connection, fulfillment, resilience, and healing.

The tools I teach and give are evidence-based tools that you can continue using between sessions so that progress extends beyond our time together. Many of these skills can become lifelong habits and have been studied for improving areas such as attention, memory, emotional regulation, anxiety, chronic pain, sleep, and overall well-being. Some have also shown promise in research related to trauma recovery, addiction, tinnitus, brain injury rehabilitation, and dementia.

Before becoming a counselor, I completed my undergraduate studies in Communication, which gave me an early appreciation for how people connect, misunderstand one another, and build healthy relationships. During graduate school and afterward, I received training and supervision in couples therapy from a former President of the Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as another member of the Board. My primary supervisor was also a founding board member of the Center for Sexual Health and Healing at the University of Minnesota. Over time, he trusted me with referrals, allowing me to continue developing my work with couples while also maintaining a long-standing practice with individual clients.

One resource I sometimes recommend is the **Anatomy of Love** personality assessment, which is based on research exploring how temperament relates to patterns of thinking, motivation, and relationships. Many couples find it helpful because it provides a framework for understanding differences in personality, communication styles, and ways of connecting. If you're interested, you can take it here:

https://theanatomyoflove.com/relationship-quizzes/helen-fishers-personality-test/

I also sometimes use the **Brain Health Assessment**, which describes different brain patterns that may relate to attention, anxiety, stress, mood, sleep, and other areas. If you choose to complete it before we meet, please send me your Brain Type and Brain Fit score.

[www.brainhealthassessment.com](http://www.brainhealthassessment.com)

Although online therapy doesn't allow me to observe every aspect of body language that an in-person session might, many people find that meeting by secure video offers greater privacy and comfort. That increased sense of privacy often helps people speak more openly and honestly, which can offset some of the limitations of not sharing the same physical space. I'll also ask questions about your emotions, stress level, and reactions so I can better understand your experience.

I also developed a free mindfulness and brain-balancing website that teaches practical skills you can continue using long after therapy has ended. It includes educational resources related to memory, attention, sleep, stress regulation, anxiety, depression, trauma recovery, addiction recovery, tinnitus, brain injury rehabilitation, dementia support, and many other areas of mental wellness. Many clients appreciate having practical exercises they can continue using independently between sessions and long after counseling has concluded.

We can move at your pace. Some people prefer open conversation, while others enjoy a more structured approach with practical exercises and educational tools. Together, we'll find an approach that fits your goals, personality, and preferences.

I also have a background in art, including training in art therapy. I enjoy helping people discover creative ways to build connection, communicate more effectively, heal, and create a richer and more meaningful life together.

I look forward to meeting you.

Peace,

Peter Meilahn, Licensed Professional Counselor

Peter Meilahn, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Peter works

The 12 approaches Peter lists, in plain English

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

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.

The Gottman Method

A couples approach built on decades of observational research into what distinguishes relationships that last. Structured and assessment-led: it maps friendship, conflict and shared meaning, then works on the specific mechanics of how the two of you argue.

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.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Works on the assumption that current patterns - in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself - have a history, and that seeing the history loosens the pattern. Less structured than CBT, usually longer, and more interested in what comes up unbidden than in a weekly agenda.

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

• Existential Therapy
• Imago Relationship Therapy
• Somatic Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Peter 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 Peter'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 Peter at this point.

2. Naming Peter specifically

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

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 Peter

Built from what Peter actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Peter's - Peter 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 16 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

LPC

Licensed in

Oregon

Licence

OR LPC C9007

Licence number

C9007

Licence expires

31 May 2027

NPI

1831634641

Years in practice

16

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

12 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Peter'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 Peter. 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.