About Betsy
Dr. Betsy Puentes uses a mix of practical therapies to help people navigate stress, anxiety, depression, and life changes. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing from Texas.
With 46 years of experience, she focuses on helping people find workable steps forward and regain confidence. She frames clients as the experts in their own lives and looks for strengths to build on.
How Betsy works
Sessions often include exercises that shift unhelpful thinking and teach new ways to respond to difficult emotions. The goal is clearer choices and more meaningful action in daily life. Dr.
Puentes has worked with people facing relationship strain, addictive behaviors, trauma and abuse, anger, and issues around sexual orientation and identity. She also helps clients dealing with chronic illness, caregiver stress, body image, and attachment or abandonment concerns. Her approach adapts to the problem at hand rather than sticking to a single method.
Her training includes a doctorate in counseling psychology and a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Those academic roots are paired with long practical experience, which she uses to offer direct guidance and steady support. Sessions are available in formats that fit modern life, including video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging.
People who choose therapy begin by completing a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a time that fits their week.
Betsy lists 11 ways of working on the entry:
What Betsy works with
The areas below are the ones Betsy selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Registers | LMFT, LPC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 46 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Texas |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches that guide online sessions
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose actions that match their values. It focuses on what matters most and on small steps to live in line with those priorities. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behavior and teaches practical skills to reduce anxiety and depression through change in thinking and routine. Emotionally-Focused Therapy, EFT, centers on emotions and attachment needs and is useful when people want to understand how feelings shape their close relationships.Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or has not helped before. Together they will pick methods and exercises that fit the clients needs and adjust them as progress is made.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions recreate a face-to-face conversation and work well for in-depth dialogue. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be easier to fit into a busy day. Live chat and text messaging are useful for brief check-ins, ongoing support between sessions, or when writing feels easier than speaking. These options offer flexibility to match scheduling and communication preferences.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
Book with BetsyWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What concerns does this therapist address?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much experience does she bring?
What credentials and location are listed?
Which languages are supported and are international clients accepted?
What session formats are available?
How is cost handled?
What are the first steps to begin?
A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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