Rita Ham , LMHP

Rita Ham brings four decades of clinical experience supporting people facing mental health, substance use and co-occurring concerns. Her professional journey began in community-based substance use treatment where she completed training and helped facilitate interventions for concerned family members, an early experience that shaped a long career focused on recovery and relational healing.

She is credentialed as a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner (LMHP) in Nebraska and has held licensure for substance use counseling in the past. Early work in residential treatment settings gave way to outpatient practice, and since 1995 she has provided services through community programs. Over the years she has worked with individuals, couples and families and has led groups for mental health and substance use issues.

Rita now concentrates on adult clients and applies cognitive behavioral therapy alongside trauma-informed principles, drawing on additional evidence-based techniques considered best practice. With client permission she often involves supportive people from a client’s life to aid progress. Rita treats diagnoses as guidance rather than identity, emphasizing life-skill development and practical tools to address symptoms and daily challenges.

Her approach is warm and interactive while prioritizing a trusting working alliance that allows for honest dialogue and respectful challenge toward agreed goals. She emphasizes respect, compassion, sensitivity and honesty, and welcomes contact from adults who are ready to explore change and move toward where they want to be.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Sessions with Rita Ham

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) invites clients to clarify personal values and build skills for accepting difficult thoughts and feelings while taking action toward a meaningful life. ACT can help with anxiety, depression, and the avoidance patterns that often accompany stress and addiction.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors through practical exercises and skill building. CBT is commonly used for mood disorders, anxiety, trauma-related symptoms and coping with life changes.

Attachment-Based Therapy explores relational patterns formed in close relationships and helps clients develop healthier ways of connecting and communicating with others, which can be useful for relationship struggles, family concerns and grief.

Determining the right approach is a collaborative process. Rita Ham works with each person to assess needs, goals and preferences and tailors techniques from these approaches to support practical change and emotional growth.

Online therapy offers flexibility by allowing sessions by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging, making it easier to fit care into a busy life and to connect with licensed professionals from home or other convenient locations. These options can improve accessibility and help clients maintain continuity of care while engaging in a therapeutic process that suits their schedule and communication style.