Practitioner record · Checked 9 Oct 2026

Saundra Burleson has been in practice 13 years and is licensed in North Carolina. Saundra lists stress, Anxiety, addictions and intimacy-related issues among 62 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.

Everything below is either quoted from Saundra's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.

13years in practice
62subjects listed
10approaches listed

01 · Who Saundra works with

Saundra works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and intimacy-related issues

Saundra lists 14 specialisms and 48 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Saundra chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

Specialisms
  • Stress, Anxiety
  • Addictions
  • Intimacy-related issues
  • Depression
  • Coping with life changes
  • LGBT
  • Relationship issues
  • Family conflicts
  • Trauma and abuse
  • Grief
  • Anger management
  • Self esteem
  • Bipolar disorder
  • ADHD
Also experienced with
  • Abandonment
  • Adoption and foster care
  • Aging and geriatric issues
  • Avoidant personality
  • Body image
  • Caregiver issues and stress
  • Co-morbidity
  • Codependency
  • Commitment issues
  • Communication problems
  • Control issues
  • Dependent personality
  • Divorce and separation
  • Domestic violence
  • Drug and alcohol addiction
  • Emptiness
  • Family of origin issues
  • Family problems
  • First responder issues
  • Forgiveness
  • Gender dysphoria
  • Guilt and shame
  • Hospice and end-of-life counseling
  • Impulsivity
  • Infidelity
  • Isolation / loneliness
  • Jealousy
  • Life purpose
  • Men's issues
  • Midlife crisis
  • Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
  • Mood disorders
  • Multicultural concerns
  • Panic disorder and panic attacks
  • Personality disorders
  • Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
  • Post-traumatic stress
  • Prejudice and discrimination
  • Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
  • Self-love
  • Sex addiction
  • Sexual assault and abuse
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Sexuality
  • Social anxiety and phobia
  • Women's issues
  • Workplace issues
  • Young adult issues

02 · In Saundra's own words

What Saundra says about the work

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

I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in North Carolina with 10 years of experience working as a therapist/counselor and have worked in the field of mental health for over 25 years. I work with clients with various issues related to depression, trauma, abuse, anxiety, relationships, life choices, and mental health diagnoses.

My counseling style is based on a foundation of genuine positive regard with no judgment. I approach clients respectfully, compassionately, and honestly with no pre-formed judgment about where they are or what they need. With an individualized combination of approaches that could include: cognitive-behavioral therapy, EMDR, choice theory, dialectical behavior therapy, narrative therapy, mindfulness activities, and acceptance and commitment therapy; I provide counseling support based on the needs of each individual client and create a safe space in which clients are provided opportunities to explore options with curiosity. Together with my clients, I tailor a treatment plan that addresses their unique and specific needs.

If you are experiencing obstacles that are making it difficult for you to achieve your intended goals, I am here to provide therapeutic support for you on your journey.

I invite you to reach out to me when you are ready or when you are considering taking that next step. I look forward to talking with you. I see clients on weekends and have a few weeknight appointments available. If you do not see something in my schedule that works for you, please let me know and we can talk about options.

Saundra Burleson, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Saundra works

The 10 approaches Saundra lists, in plain English

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

Saundra 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 Saundra'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 Saundra at this point.

  2. Naming Saundra specifically

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

  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 Saundra

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

  • “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred 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.

  • “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
LCMHC
Licensed in
North Carolina
Licence
NC LCMHC 12925
Licence number
12925
Licence expires
30 Jun 2028
NPI
1295264174
Years in practice
13
Gender
Female
Languages
English
International clients
Not accepted
Listed since
15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Saundra'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 Saundra. 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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