About Brenda
Brenda Ticknor is a licensed mental health counselor who helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, addiction struggles, relationship problems, and trauma. She writes and listens in a direct, respectful way to make starting therapy feel less overwhelming.
With 21 years of experience and licensure in Nebraska as a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner and as an LMHC, she draws on practical methods to meet real-life needs. Sessions focus on what matters most to each person and move at a pace they can handle.
Background and approach
Her work often centers on patterns that keep people stuck, such as attachment wounds, abandonment fears, or codependent behaviors. She also supports people navigating body image concerns, blended family stress, caregiver strain, chronic pain or illness, and relationship communication problems. Brenda uses a mix of approaches including client-centered listening, cognitive-behavioral skills, emotion-focused work, mindfulness, and strategies from dialectical behavior therapy.
She adapts tools to each person rather than following a rigid protocol. Conversations aim to build clearer choices, stronger coping skills, and better emotional awareness. The therapist helps clients create small, doable steps that fit their life and goals.
Working together, people often find relief from immediate symptoms and clearer direction for change.
How Brenda’s approaches work online
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and understanding what matters to the person. The therapist follows the client's lead to build trust and clarify goals, which helps when someone needs a steady, respectful space to talk.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, teaches practical skills to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It is often used for anxiety, depression, and stress by breaking problems into manageable steps and practicing new responses.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, adds emotion regulation and distress-tolerance tools for intense feelings and relationship conflicts. It gives concrete strategies to manage overwhelming moments and improve communication.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and recommend a plan that mixes listening and skill-building. This collaborative process helps tailor sessions to what actually helps the individual.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video lets people read body language and have a fuller conversation, while phone calls use less bandwidth. Live chat and messaging can fit brief check-ins or ongoing support between sessions. These formats make it easier to schedule care around work, caregiving, or mobility limits and offer more flexible ways to practice skills between sessions.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Brenda specialize in?
What is her therapy style like?
How much experience does she have?
What credentials and location apply?
Are sessions available in other languages?
What session formats are offered?
How does billing and cost work?
What do I need to do to begin?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 21 years
- Licensed
- Nebraska, Iowa
- Languages
- English