01 · Who Tara works with

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

Tara lists 15 specialisms and 20 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Tara chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Tara's own words

What Tara says about the work

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

Hello and welcome. My name is Tara and I am a licensed professional counselor in the state of Arizona. Counseling any person, no matter where they have come from, or what challenges they are struggling with, is my passion. I enjoy helping people achieve what they desire in this life. Whether it is to have a better marriage, learn how to deal with depression, less anxiety with every new situation that arises, or parenting struggles, I can help. I love helping people to be the very best versions of themselves and giving them the tools to help with varying hurdles in life. Life can be so tough, and seeking counseling is a very brave first step and I am so grateful you came here. We all go through hills and valleys in life, but it's so much better to go through those valleys when you have the right tools in which to deal with the tough times. Life is a gift. Counseling is a gift and I hope to be able to help you with your journey.

A little about me. I grew up a military kid and was able to travel the world with my family, which came with some wonderful experiences and also some challenges of having to adjust quickly to different settings. Along the way I met a lot of great people and had the opportunity to learn family dynamics, and cultures from a very young age. I am grateful to have had to change and move throughout my childhood so that I could end up in this field where I can truly help so many different kinds of people, no matter their background, or what struggles they are going through. I received my bachelors degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University. I then went on to receive my Masters degree from Argosy University in Phoenix, Arizona. My counseling approach is mindfulness training, cognitive behavioral therapy, and solution focused brief therapy. I believe we all have the ability to get where we want to go, but sometimes we need a little help along the way.

Tara Brisnehan, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Tara works

The 6 approaches Tara lists, in plain English

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

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.

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.

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.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Tara 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 Tara'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 Tara at this point.

2. Naming Tara specifically

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

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 Tara

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

LPC

Licensed in

Arizona

Licence

AZ LPC 18334

Licence number

18334

Licence expires

31 Aug 2027

NPI

1487295564

Years in practice

6

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Tara'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 Tara. 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.