About Mark
Dr. Mark Thelen is a Minnesota psychologist with four decades of experience helping people who feel stuck by stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, or relationship strain. He speaks plainly and focuses on practical steps that make daily life easier.
He aims to help people gain coping skills and clearer direction so that small changes lead to steadier days. Dr. Thelen’s work combines careful listening with approaches that match each person’s needs.
Background and approach
He starts by asking what matters most to the client and then builds goals together. Sessions tend to be straightforward and goal-focused, with time spent practicing new ways of thinking and behaving between meetings. Over 40 years he has worked in community mental health centers, hospital units, group clinics, and in independent practice.
That variety shaped a flexible style that fits people coming from many backgrounds. He draws on methods that help with mood, attention, trauma recovery, and relationship problems. Clients can expect a respectful, collaborative tone in sessions.
Thelen believes people bring strengths they can use to manage symptoms and meet goals. He frames progress as small, steady steps rather than sudden fixes. People who want clear tools for managing impulsivity, sleep difficulties, or anger often find his practical focus helpful.
He also supports those coping with grief, life transitions, addiction concerns, and compassion fatigue. Dr. Thelen holds the credential MN Psychologist 2992 and practices in Minnesota.
He works in English and uses methods that emphasize the client’s story and present concerns.
Approaches that translate well to online therapy
Client-Centered Therapy centers on the client’s experience and priorities. The therapist listens carefully, reflects what he hears, and helps clients clarify values and goals so they can make choices that feel right. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks problems into thought and behavior patterns. It helps with anxiety, depression, sleep problems, impulsivity, and many ADHD-related challenges by teaching practical skills to change unhelpful thinking and habits.Choosing an approach is a team effort. The therapist will talk with each person about struggles and aims, then recommend methods that match those goals. That plan can change as therapy moves forward, and sessions will adjust based on what works best for the client.
Online formats offered include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for longer sessions and face-to-face conversation, while phone calls work well when bandwidth is limited or a quieter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging can fit quick check-ins, brief coaching, or times when typing feels easier than speaking. These options make it simpler to weave therapy into a busy routine and keep progress moving between in-person visits.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Anger management
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Traumatic brain injury
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 40 years
- Licensed
- Minnesota
- Languages
- English
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