About Colleen
Colleen Prendergast is a licensed professional counselor practicing in Wisconsin. She supports people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship strain, addiction, ADHD, and other mood and behavior concerns. Colleen draws on 18 years of experience to help people find practical ways to cope and move forward.
Her approach begins with building a trusting working relationship. She aims to create a calm, nonjudgmental space where people can talk about what matters most to them.
Background and approach
Colleen emphasizes listening first, then shaping goals together that feel realistic and relevant. She uses several evidence-informed methods to fit each person’s needs. Common tools include acceptance and commitment strategies to help clarify values, cognitive behavior techniques to shift unhelpful thinking, and mindfulness practices to reduce reactivity.
She also brings client-centered skills to keep conversations grounded in each person’s experience. Colleen often focuses on day-to-day skills like managing stress, reducing anxiety, improving communication, handling grief, and coping with life transitions. She can work through patterns that fuel impulsivity, codependency, and isolation, and she supports people dealing with caregiver strain and compassion fatigue.
Sessions balance practical exercises with space to process emotions. People who choose Colleen can expect a collaborative process. She helps set step-by-step goals and adjusts methods as progress is made.
Her style is warm, direct, and goal-focused, aimed at building skills that make daily life easier.
How these approaches translate to online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and choose actions that match their values. Online ACT sessions often focus on small, practical experiments and values-based goals to improve daily life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect, and teaches skills to challenge unhelpful thinking and build new behaviors; it suits problems like anxiety, depression, and obsessive patterns. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes listening, empathy, and working at the client's pace to build trust and clarity.Finding the right approach is collaborative. Colleen will discuss options and try methods that fit the person’s needs and goals. She adjusts techniques over time and checks in to make sure the work feels useful and realistic.
Online formats used include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls are good for face-to-face conversation and guided exercises. Phone sessions can fit into a busy day or use less bandwidth. Live chat and text-based messaging work well for shorter check-ins, coaching-style support, or people who prefer writing. These options make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into a routine while still focusing on practical change.
Questions people ask
What concerns does Colleen help with?
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
What experience does she bring?
Where is she licensed and located?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
What session formats are available?
How does cost and payment work?
How do I begin working with her?
What this counselor works with
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- First responder issues
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Personality disorders
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 18 years
- Licensed
- Wisconsin
- Languages
- English