- Client-Centered Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused work
About Cheryl
Cheryl Patterson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in Minnesota with four years of clinical experience. She works with stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship and parenting concerns, and anger among other issues. Her background includes nursing and hands-on recovery work, and she brings that practical perspective into sessions.
Before training as an LMFT, she spent much of her career as a registered nurse in labor, delivery, postpartum and the nursery. She also worked in adult psychiatric care for two years and held a nurse manager role. That healthcare experience shapes how she notices patterns in behavior and coping under pressure.
Cheryl moved into counseling after her own positive experience with a therapist, and she has several years working in addiction recovery settings. She worked at Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge and later opened and supervised a peer-directed recovery house for six men. Those roles gave her direct experience with recovery, program oversight, and group dynamics.
Her counseling covers individual work, couples counseling, parenting support for all ages, and life transitions. She describes her approach as spiritually focused, and she uses conversational, practical work to address everyday problems like sleep, control issues, and communication breakdowns.
Clients can expect a straightforward style that draws on solution-focused ideas, narrative perspectives, client-centered listening, and motivational interviewing. Sessions aim to help people sort through what is getting in the way of feeling steady at home, at work, or in relationships.
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and reflecting what matters to a person. Online sessions using this approach let a therapist follow your lead, clarify goals, and respond to what feels most urgent. Motivational Interviewing is a practical style that helps people resolve mixed feelings about change. It works well for addictions, behavior change, and getting moving on next steps.Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. Cheryl will collaborate with clients to decide whether client-centered listening, motivational interviewing, or solution-focused steps fit best. That decision is based on the client’s needs, goals, and preferences and can change over time as progress is made.
The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, allow shorter check-ins when schedules demand it, and avoid travel time. For some people, a phone check-in is useful when bandwidth is limited; a video session may be better for conversations that benefit from seeing facial cues. Discuss format preferences during the first scheduling steps so sessions fit into everyday life.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
4+ years
Listed in
Minnesota
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
Which concerns does she address related to anger?
She lists anger explicitly alongside stress, relationships, and addictions. She also works on control issues and communication problems that often tie into anger.
What style of therapy does she use in sessions?
She uses client-centered listening along with motivational interviewing and solution-focused techniques. Narrative therapy ideas also appear in her work to help people reframe their stories.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has four years of experience as an LMFT and additional years of professional experience as a registered nurse and nurse manager in perinatal settings.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is a Minnesota LMFT and practices in Minnesota.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English. She is not currently accepting international clients.
What session formats are available?
The original biography does not list specific session formats. Please confirm the current session options before booking.
How are sessions paid for and what does cost depend on?
Costs vary with location and sessions are provided through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I start working with her?
Begin by selecting the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.