Ryan Forbes, LCMHC

Ryan Forbes prefers to go by "Forbes" to avoid confusion among the many Ryans, though he welcomes being called Ryan. He is biracial - his father is Maori from the Waikato region of New Zealand and his mother is English born in the United States. Raised in Nevada, he spent his youth moving among a mix of cities and rural communities while his parents worked for state government.

Ryan is licensed in Utah as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) and brings over 10 years of counseling experience to his practice. He has worked with individuals facing stress and anxiety, relationship challenges, motivation and confidence concerns, self-esteem struggles, and mood conditions such as bipolar disorder. Ryan approaches therapy with the belief that each person is the expert of their own story and that strengths already exist which can be mobilized to meet difficult situations.

He acknowledges that seeking change requires courage and values a supportive, empowering stance. Ryan aims to work alongside clients to help them take the first steps toward a more fulfilling and happier life.

Therapeutic Approaches for Online Care

Ryan Forbes draws on client-centered methods that prioritize the individual’s own perspective, offering a listening stance that supports self-discovery and personal strengths. This approach is useful for relationship concerns, self-esteem work, and life transitions because it centers the client’s goals and values.

He also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help identify unhelpful thinking and develop practical strategies for stress, anxiety, motivation, and mood-related patterns. CBT offers concrete tools for changing behaviors and managing symptoms. When appropriate, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills are used to build emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, which can be helpful for impulsivity, intense emotions, and relationship difficulties.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process and will be decided collaboratively. Ryan will work with each person to choose methods that match their needs, goals, and preferences, and licensed professionals can adapt techniques over time as progress unfolds.

Online therapy with Ryan is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, providing flexibility for different schedules and communication styles. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care while fitting therapy into everyday life.