01 · Who Richard works with

Richard works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and relationship issues

Richard lists 17 specialisms and 5 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.

In January of 2023 I turned 70. After being retired since just before the pandemic hit in 2020, I decided it was time for me to start practicing as a therapist again, as it has been my biggest passion in life, and there are more people reaching out for help than there are therapists to help them. I am currently licensed in Oregon with over 30 years of professional work experience. I have experience in inpatient and outpatient therapy, both group and individual.

I worked as a musician in Reno and Lake Tahoe in my 20s and 30s, and I started my counseling career 34 years ago in 1992, when I was 39 years old. I worked in the in the psychiatric department of the Carson-Tahoe Regional Medical Center, a hospital in Nevada, while I was going to school to get my counseling degree. After I graduated, I continued working there for about 15 years as an inpatient and outpatient therapist, performing individual, family and group therapy. Additionally, I started my own private practice in 2004 while still working at the hospital. Around 2009 I went to work in a stand-alone psychiatric hospital in Reno, Nevada. I then worked for a time in a community mental health clinic, and for a time in hospice care. I spent the last 10 years of my professional life as a private-practice outpatient therapist working in a family medical clinic in suburban Portland, Oregon. I have experience in helping men and women of all ages with depression, stress and anxiety, in coping with addictions, with relationship issues, and in coping with grief and loss. I work with people to create an open and safe environment where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment. I look at building a therapeutic partnership with you where we can problem-solve together to help you live a rewarding and fulfilling life. Taking the first step to seeking a more fulfilling and happier life takes courage. I am here to support you in that process.

Richard "Rick" Dawson, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Richard works

The 5 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

4 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.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Internal Family Systems. 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 33 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

Oregon

Licence

OR LCSW L11379

Licence number

L11379

Licence expires

2 Mar 2027

NPI

1902866676

Years in practice

33

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Not 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.

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