01 · Who Richard works with

Richard works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and anger management

Richard lists 17 specialisms and 27 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Richard chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Richard's own words

What Richard says about the work

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

If I had only one piece of advice to share it would be that as human beings we only have one opportunity to experience the universe, and that is in our lifetime. We all have the power to make that experience an amazing journey, lived in gratitude and with positive emotions. My career in mental health/addictions counseling began 25 years ago in mid life. I am very fortunate to have made this career transition. It allowed me to align with an important value of mine, giving something back to the world. Also, I have experienced enormous personal benefit through the changes in my own thinking that lead me to live in gratitude, acceptance and serenity. My career began in business and education, and eventually I was part of a business startup that failed. I became depressed as my business was failing, and for the first time in my life I reached out for help to a therapist. My therapist helped me see that my depression was a result of me extrapolating the business failure to believing I was a personal failure. This experience of how changing one's perspective/attitude about life events can totally shift one's emotional outcome was powerful and life changing. I wanted to be able to help people challenge their own self defeating beliefs and think more effectively and live their lives more effectively. My primary counseling focus is in Cognitive and Dialectic Behavioral Therapy. My training in psychology and addiction counseling has enabled me to be of service to my clients as well changing my own thinking. While we are all going to experience some pain, loss and suffering, with tools and motivation we can work through the negative emotions and get back to positive emotions and make our life journey a better one. Identifying our own values and living according to those values is another key to more happiness and positive emotions. I have embraced spirituality in my life. Living in gratitude and honoring the gift of life by taking the best care on one's physical, emotional and spiritual health leads to an awesome life journey.

Richard Goldin, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Richard works

The 6 approaches Richard lists, in plain English

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

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.

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.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Richard 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 Richard'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 Richard at this point.

2. Naming Richard specifically

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

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 Richard

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

• “With 23 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

LCSW

Licensed in

Illinois

Licence

IL LCSW 149009159

Licence number

149009159

Licence expires

30 Nov 2027

NPI

1174823108

Years in practice

23

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Richard'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 Richard. 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.