About Bret
Bret Patterson is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) practicing in Mississippi. He brings four years of counseling experience and a patient, respectful approach to sessions. He focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, grief, anger, and relationship concerns.
Before becoming a counselor, he spent 25 years working as a paramedic and clinical educator. That background shaped how he listens and responds in moments of crisis and high stress. He uses practical, direct conversations to help clients find what works for them.
Background and approach
His work addresses a wide range of concerns, including addictions, intimacy-related issues, parenting strain, and self-esteem. He also supports people dealing with trauma and abuse, caregiver stress, chronic illness and pain, and major life changes. His additional focus areas include abandonment, codependency, communication problems, and divorce or separation.
Bret uses several therapy approaches to match clients’ needs. He draws on client-centered techniques to build understanding and safety. He applies cognitive behavioral ideas to identify unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors.
He also incorporates dialectical behavior strategies and mindfulness practices when emotional regulation is a goal. Sessions are shaped to each person’s goals and situation. Bret values straightforward dialogue and practical steps that can be used between meetings.
He aims to support people as they take the first steps toward change and a more manageable, meaningful life.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and helping a person feel heard and understood; online sessions use that same approach with open conversation and reflection to clarify goals and priorities. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect; online work can include identifying unhelpful thinking patterns, practicing new behaviors, and reviewing them between sessions. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) offers concrete skills for managing strong emotions and improving relationships, and it can be taught through video or messaging with practical homework to try in daily life.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose which methods to try based on their needs, goals, and preferences. Adjustments are made as progress is tracked so the plan stays useful and relevant.
Online therapy offers flexibility in how people connect. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when a deeper exchange feels helpful. Phone sessions can fit into a busy day or work better when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging make brief check-ins, skill practice, and ongoing support easier to fit into daily life. These options help people access consistent care around work, caregiving, or unpredictable schedules.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Anger management
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 4 years
- Licensed
- Mississippi
- Languages
- English