01 · Who Sean works with

Sean works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and trauma and abuse

Sean lists 5 specialisms and 6 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Sean chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Sean's own words

What Sean says about the work

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

Are you tired of being so afraid? Have you been sad for so long that you’d rather not feel anymore? Do you distract yourself with TV, your phone, sleep, or use anything rather than feel how you are?

We need our emotions, but working well in our life. At the most basic level, what I’d like to do with you is help you get to know your emotions a little better. We can do more with emotions than “managing them” or “coping” with them. Once we’ve gotten to know your emotions a little better, maybe we can work on how you relate to them, perhaps take some of the tension and stress out of your relationship with your emotions.

I’ve often described myself as a true believer in therapy. My own therapy has given me shelter, healing, and the strength to persevere in life. I believed so much in the power of therapy that I completely changed careers! It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

If this approach will work for you, please get in contact with me. I have 7 years of experience with mindfulness-based, CBT, DBT, and ACT-based strategies for working with anxiety and mood-based disorders.

Sean Burns, on the BetterHelp listing · read 10 Oct 2026

03 · How Sean works

The 3 approaches Sean lists, in plain English

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

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.

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.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Sean 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 Sean'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 Sean at this point.

2. Naming Sean specifically

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

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

2 questions worth asking Sean

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

• “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

LCPC

Licensed in

Illinois

Licence

IL LCPC 180012807

Licence number

180012807

Licence expires

31 Mar 2027

NPI

1144752916

Years in practice

7

Gender

Male

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

11 Sep 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Sean'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 10 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 Sean. 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.