01 · Who Samuel works with

Samuel works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and family conflicts

Samuel lists 12 specialisms and 1 further focus area. Specialisms are the subjects Samuel chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Samuel's own words

What Samuel says about the work

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

My commitment to helping people heal and grow from personal and family crises has taken me in many directions, from managing human service non-profits to providing direct therapy and treatment. I became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker after getting my MSW from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989. I have provided family, group, individual counseling to a variety of clients in various clinical settings since then. I have experience using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family Therapy, and other appropriate interventions when working with people suffering from depression, anxiety, trauma, and other family and individual crises. I also have experience in Crisis Intervention techniques and Trauma-Focused Treatment. I have worked with individuals who have experienced child abuse, domestic violence, and other forms of trauma throughout my career. These types of problems co-exist with grief and loss and significant relationship issues. My goal is always to provide a safe and therapeutic environment for the client to begin their journey of healing.

Samuel Parker, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Samuel works

The 6 approaches Samuel lists, in plain English

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

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.

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.

Also listed

• Existential Therapy
• Jungian Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Samuel 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 Samuel'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 Samuel at this point.

2. Naming Samuel specifically

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

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 Samuel

Built from what Samuel actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Samuel's - Samuel has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Narrative 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 45 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

North Carolina

Licence

NC LCSW C000461

Licence number

C000461

Licence expires

1 Jul 2027

NPI

1063718088

Years in practice

45

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Samuel'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 Samuel. 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.