Therapist Myrna Pledger Photo

Myrna Pledger, LCPC

Stress, Anxiety Relationships Family conflicts Trauma, Abuse Depression
Video Phone Live Chat Messaging

About me

I was trained as a Community Counselor and as such, I am prepared to work with the issues and concerns that occur with individuals and families in the community, and everyone lives in a community. As you can imagine, there are not many individual situations I have not encountered. In the beginning of my career, I worked with children behaving violently or inappropriately in school environments primarily. I realized that the child experiencing mental health difficulties is a member of a family experiencing mental health difficulties as a system. I believe that most maladaptive behavior is learned from the family environment or may be from inherited tendencies. I also believe that many problems you see in both children and adults are the results of having to be in close proximity to someone who is a narcissist or someone who is exhibiting enough narcissistic traits to be dangerous to those with whom they associate.

I am licensed in the state of Illinois as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and have over 10 years of experience working as a Counselor. I specialize in treating survivors of narcissistic abuse both mental, spiritual and physical. I have worked with clients with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, relationship issues, parenting problems, career challenges, OCD, and ADHD. I also helped many people who have experienced physical trauma or emotional abuse. I am faith-based as I myself believe it is important to recognize The Creator when attempting to offer help to His people.

My therapy style is truth-based, educationally focused and kind. I believe in treating anyone in the manner that I would want to be treated if I was in their situation. I don't believe in labels, but I do believe in presenting examples of others who have overcome similar circumstances. I am primarily faith or Christian based. I am solutions focused and combine cognitive-behavioral and rational-emotive therapy. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs.

It takes courage to seek a more fulfilling and happier life and to take the first steps towards change. If you are ready to take that step, I am here to support and empower you.

I look forward to working with you!

Professional experience

21yrs in practice
Stress, Anxiety Relationships Family conflicts Trauma, Abuse Depression

Additional areas of focus: Addictions, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Parenting issues, Anger management, Self esteem, Career difficulties, Coping with life changes, Compassion fatigue, Avoidant Personality, Codependency, Commitment Issues, Dependent Personality, Hospice and End of Life Counseling, Isolation / loneliness, Multicultural Concerns, Personality Disorders, Prejudice and Discrimination, Self-love, Sexual Assault and Abuse, Social anxiety and phobia

Clinical approaches: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Jungian Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems

Services offered

Video
Phone
Live Chat
Messaging

License information

IL LCPC 180.006251

Reviews

These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Myrna Pledger. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.

Matched me with the best therapist I could ask for

Written on Mar 17, 2024 after therapy with Myrna for 1 year and 10 months on issues concerning family conflicts

Myrna offered guidance in a way that is relevant and relatable to my understanding and sensibility.

Written on Mar 12, 2024 after therapy with Myrna for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, intimacy-related issues, parenting issues, coping with life changes, and adhd

Myrna has been an absolutely invaluable and foundational part of my healing journey. I couldn't recommend her more highly.

Written on Feb 04, 2024 after therapy with Myrna for 1 year and 5 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, family conflicts, and compassion fatigue

Myrna provided me with perspective which has challenged my outlook on life that has empowered me. She's a patient listener and constantly checks in through the chat which I find extremely useful. It makes all the difference to communicate with your therapist outside the live session. I also feel like she's guided my spirituality and how faith has played a role in my healing and journey to bettering myself. I'm really glad I reached out to BetterHelp and found a therapist who was so real and so kind.

Written on Dec 27, 2023 after therapy with Myrna for 11 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting issues, self esteem, anger management, career difficulties, and coping with life changes

Myrna, is an excellent listener. She never interrupts and she is encouraging. I appreciate how well she is able to provide feedback and provide a great deal of concern and care for me.

Written on Dec 14, 2023 after therapy with Myrna for 10 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, family conflicts, and compassion fatigue

I"ve had 3 sessions with Myrna! The first session was to proactively spot-check my emotional wellness as I embraced the dating world, I recently completed a few years of heavy inner work post-trauma and felt the need to spot-check myself. If anything to ensure I was not being reckless with my heart. Second session was identifying blind spots and third session was opening up about family trauma in hopes to identify character nuances *potentially* preventing me from healthy partnership. Myrna has been gentle in feedback and firm in her approach. Reassurance of new concepts. Reminders of current social norms. Raised eyebrows on maintaining healthy standards. She caught me masking and embraced my shifts with curiosity and consistency. Myrna is versed with family dynamics, biracial homes, role reversal et al, and helps shed light on areas to work on (or be gentle towards). Results focused. Thank you!

Written on Nov 13, 2023 after therapy with Myrna for 2 weeks on issues concerning addictions, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, and anger management