Bente Hansen, LMFT

Bente Hansen is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 20 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, and relationship concerns. She focuses on practical steps that can improve daily functioning and strengthen self-esteem. Her style is warm and respectful, and she meets people where they are in life. Clients can expect conversations that are tailored to their needs and goals. Sessions address grief and loss, motivation, coping with life changes, and building confidence. Bente also works with attachment issues, caregiver stress, chronic illness and pain, and communication problems. She draws on several therapeutic approaches to guide sessions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop new coping strategies. Emotionally-Focused Therapy supports understanding and shifting emotional responses in close relationships. Attachment-Based and psychodynamic ideas are used to look at early patterns that still affect current life. Over two decades in practice have included support around divorce and separation, substance use concerns, family of origin issues, hospice and end-of-life counseling, and pregnancy-related stress. She also helps people facing isolation, workplace strain, or social anxiety. Bente offers services in English and Danish and practices in California. She frames therapy as a collaborative process and encourages people to take small, manageable steps toward change.

How her therapeutic approaches guide online work

Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early connection patterns affect current relationships and emotional responses; it helps people notice patterns and build more secure ways of relating. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical techniques to reduce anxiety and change unhelpful habits. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) helps people identify and shift core emotions in close relationships so they can respond differently and improve connection.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that fit their needs, goals, and personal preferences. She adapts strategies over time so sessions remain useful and relevant.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. It also lets people connect from places that are more convenient for them, and therapists can use the same therapeutic tools in virtual sessions as in person. If you have questions about how sessions are run, ask during the initial scheduling step.