01 · Who Samantha works with

Samantha works with addictions, trauma and abuse and bipolar disorder

Samantha lists 4 specialisms and 8 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Samantha chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Samantha's own words

What Samantha says about the work

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

Life can change us for the better, or for the worse. We can become stuck. While we have labels for these things, the bottom-line is we get stuck and we can become unstuck. I am s seasoned helper who has been in the mental health field for over 30 years. I have worked with all age groups and diagnoses. I have worked in hospitals, clinics and in the community. I have a strong background in addiction, trauma and life transitions. I have made a life of breaking out of the boxes and labels, professionally and personally. I am well versed in clinical and professional approaches; but my strengths are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing/Change Theory, Solution-Focused Therapy and EMDR. But, I believe there are many ways to getting unstuck found in ones own personal curiosity, creativity, and experiences. I am interested in those I serve being able to describe their experiences in the own words, through their own expression, and though their own lived experience. I believe a person's history is social, cultural, spiritual, and emotional. I believe healing comes from a personal journey and making sense of things. Let's work together as collaborators!

Samantha Thornton, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Samantha works

The 7 approaches Samantha lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Samantha lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Samantha'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 Samantha runs a session.

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.

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.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and ReprocessingEMDR

A structured trauma protocol in which you hold a distressing memory in mind while following a repeated side-to-side cue. The mechanism is still debated; the outcome data in post-traumatic stress is strong enough that it appears in national treatment guidelines.

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.

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.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Samantha 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 Samantha'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 Samantha at this point.

2. Naming Samantha specifically

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

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 Samantha

Built from what Samantha actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Samantha's - Samantha 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 30 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

Texas

Licence

TX LPC 83108

Licence number

83108

Licence expires

30 Jun 2027

NPI

1205089349

Years in practice

30

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Samantha'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 Samantha. 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.