About Wesley
Wesley Hirst is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) with 25 years of experience. He aims to help people who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, grief, or life changes. Wesley speaks plainly and listens first to understand what matters most to each person.
Wesley uses a mix of practical approaches to help people manage symptoms and make day-to-day changes. He often draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients clarify values and take workable steps.
Background and approach
He also uses tools from Dialectical Behavior Therapy when stronger emotion regulation skills are needed. Sessions are straightforward and collaborative. Wesley focuses on building trust and treating people with respect and empathy.
He avoids judgment and works with each person to set realistic goals they can try between meetings. Wesley’s background includes long experience with trauma, substance use concerns, relationship issues, and parenting-related stress. He also helps people coping with panic attacks, questions about life purpose, sleep and eating difficulties, and attention-deficit concerns.
Outside of work he spends time camping, backpacking, biking, listening to music, and taking photos. He enjoys time with pets and watching wildlife. Wesley brings those life experiences to his work and uses them to connect with people facing hard moments.
Practical approaches for online counseling
Wesley commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in his online work. CBT helps people spot patterns of thinking and behavior that keep problems going and teaches skills to change them, which can help with anxiety, depression, sleep, and eating issues. ACT focuses on clarifying what matters most and taking small, value-driven steps even when hard feelings are present, which is useful for life purpose questions and coping with change.He also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy for emotion regulation and distress tolerance when needed. That approach teaches concrete skills for managing intense feelings and improving relationships. Choosing an approach is a collaborative process - Wesley talks with each person about goals and preferences and adjusts methods as work progresses.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to match different needs. Video is useful for more in-depth sessions, phone can work when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or live chat can fit quick check-ins or brief skill practice. These options make it easier to fit sessions into busy schedules and keep consistent momentum between meetings.
Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does he help with?
What is his therapeutic approach like?
How long has he been practicing?
Where is he licensed and based?
Which languages are offered for sessions?
Can people outside the U.S. work with him?
How are sessions conducted online?
How does payment and getting started work?
What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Life purpose
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Sleeping disorders
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- Missouri
- Languages
- English