Colleen Prendergast

Colleen Prendergast is an LPC practicing in Wisconsin with 18 years of experience supporting people through stress, anxiety, grief, trauma, relationship struggles, mood disorders, and caregiving strain. She works with adults across a wide age range who face life transitions, loss, addictive patterns, attention challenges, and career or identity questions. Colleen aims to create a warm, nonjudgmental space where people can speak honestly about what feels hard right now.

Her approach is flexible and tailored to each person’s needs rather than a single fixed method. She draws from Trauma-Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, cognitive behavioral methods, dialectical skills, and client-centered practices to shape sessions around what will help most. Sessions may include practical skill building, emotion regulation tools, values-based goal setting, and time to process painful experiences.

Colleen emphasizes the therapy relationship as the foundation of progress. She focuses on building trust, listening closely, and offering steady support while helping clients learn new ways to cope. She also integrates mindfulness and creative techniques when they fit a person’s goals.

People who work with her can expect straightforward feedback, collaborative goal setting, and attention to how symptoms affect daily life. Her style is present and empathetic, with an eye toward practical steps that reduce distress and improve day-to-day functioning.

Colleen believes reaching out takes courage and that therapy is a partnership. She encourages anyone feeling overwhelmed by life changes, loss, or persistent mood and anxiety problems to consider starting that first step.

How therapeutic approaches guide online work

Trauma-Focused Therapy focuses on helping people process and make sense of past harmful events so those memories interfere less with daily life. It often combines telling the story, managing strong emotions, and learning coping skills to reduce distress.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify what matters most to them and take small actions toward those values while learning to live with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental relationship where the person’s own goals guide each session.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with the client about symptoms, goals, and preferences and then recommend methods to try. That decision is collaborative and can shift as progress is made.

Confirm current session options before booking since this profile does not list specific formats. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life by removing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins when schedules require it, and making it simpler to attend from different locations. Many people find that regular remote sessions help them practice skills between appointments and keep momentum toward their goals.