Marissa Waldner

I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor based in South Dakota, and I work exclusively via telehealth — which means I can see clients from anywhere in the state, whether you're in Sioux Falls, a reservation community, or a town with one stoplight. I have a background in school counseling, which means I understand how kids think, how families work, and how what happens at school follows everyone home. I work with people of all ages — from young children to seniors — including military families, new and expecting mothers, adults carrying old trauma, and anyone somewhere in the middle of a hard season. I tend to be warm but direct. I won't waste your time dancing around what's actually going on.

I pull from several evidence-based approaches — CBT, ACT, Solution-Focused, and Narrative Therapy — but I don't run sessions off a script. I adapt to what's actually in the room. If faith is part of your life and you want it to be part of your therapy, we can do that. If not, we don't have to go there. My style is collaborative — we figure out together what's working, what isn't, and what a realistic path forward looks like. I take hard things seriously without making sessions feel heavy all the time. There's often more space for humor and honesty than people expect.

The first session is mostly me listening and you talking. I'll ask questions to understand your history, what's bringing you in now, and what you're hoping therapy can do for you. There's no intake quiz, no homework on day one. By the end of the hour, you'll have a clear sense of how I work, and I'll share some initial thoughts on where we might focus. A lot of people leave the first session surprised at how quickly we got somewhere real. That's the goal — not just a nice conversation, but actual traction.