About Us
Meet Beth Burkstrand-Reid,
JD, MSW, LICSW
Brite is led by Beth Burkstrand-Reid, a clinical social worker and lawyer. Beth has a wide range of clinical social work experience. in private practice and community mental health settings, including treating adult mood and anxiety disorders, personality disorders, schizophrenia, and addiction, including in people who are pregnant and parenting.
Beth has a special interest in helping individuals develop concrete skills to manage anxiety and mood disorders.
She also works with couples seeking to improve their relationship, especially when one partner has a diagnosed mental health challenge.
In addition to her clinical practice, Beth is an instructor in the Master of Social Work program at the University of Southern Maine, where she primarily teaches advanced clinical practice courses and supervises social-workers-in-training.
Prior to her career as a social worker, Beth was a practicing lawyer and law professor. She is a widely published expert in gender and reproductive rights law. As a therapist, she is honored to support women as they make individual reproductive choices regarding contraception, fertility, pregnancy, parenting, or abortion. She also enjoys working with women moving through perimenopause to menopause.
As a former lawyer who worked with organizations including Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, Beth has a special place in her heart for supporting all those who seek to improve the lives of others. Her unique combination of law and social work skills allows her to address the mental health impact of systemic and individualized discrimination.
She has a Juris Doctor from American University, a Master of Social Work from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University.
Beth is married to her college sweetheart and has two daughters and a fabulous rescue Greyhound. She is an avid college women’s hockey fan, loves bad television, enjoys trying new restaurants, and is working toward her goal of visiting every lighthouse in Maine.
About Brite Counseling
We believe that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be great. And we believe that by understanding ourselves — and learning a few new tools — we can increase the joy we experience in life.
Straight talk with a healthy dose of laughter and a bit of irreverence is our style.
Our clients tend to be motivated individuals who are change-makers and justice-seekers in their friendships, families, workplaces, and communities. They come to Brite to share, learn new skills, put those skills to work, and feel better.
Therapy at Brite is evidence-based and solution-focused. We are always happy to share research with you that supports our recommended approach. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Gottman-based couples techniques are some of our favorite approaches to helping clients achieve their goals.
Brite provides in-person therapy to clients in Maine, and telehealth services to clients in Maine and Nebraska. We provide speaking and training on mental health-related topics for schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations nationwide.
Brite proudly supports anti-racist, LGBTQIA+, immigrant, and reproductive justice communities.
Services at Brite
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy is weekly or biweekly individual work with a therapist. Get to know yourself better. Identify and understand patterns (the good and the bad) that impact you. Learn skills needed to maximize your ability to live your life with more balance.
Issue-Specific Therapy
You don’t have to solve every problem in your life to feel better in a meaningful way. Want to address a specific issue or goal or develop a set of skills? Issue-specific therapy (sometimes also called intensive therapy) may be for you.
Couples Therapy
Disagree fairly and effectively. Balance household tasks and maintain that balance. Make important life decisions and feel like a team. Set goals and plan how to achieve them. Couples therapy can help strengthen relationships that are already strong or provide tools to help couples get back on track when a relationship is on shaky ground.
Therapy and Consultation for Therapists
Therapists are the ultimate change-makers and Brite is here for you. A significant percentage of Brite clients are therapists themselves. Beth approaches therapy for therapists from a whole-person perspective, working to help therapists align their many roles (and address their unique stressors). Beth also provides ethics and treatment planning consultation for peers.
Speaking and Training for Organizations
Brite helps groups large and small build mentally healthy cultures. Beth provides speaking and training services on a variety of mental health topics such as stress management, positive communication, and the impact of trauma on individuals. She focuses on making the experience enjoyable – and actually usable – for her audiences.