Rita Ham

Rita Ham brings 40 years of experience providing therapy to people facing a range of mental health, substance use, and co-occurring challenges. Her interest in helping others began in a community-based substance use treatment center, where she completed training and led interventions for family members worried about loved ones. That formative work set her on a long and continuing professional path rooted in substance use treatment and behavioral health.

She holds Nebraska licensure as a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner (NE LMHP 1671) and is also credentialed as a licensed drug counselor in Nebraska; she was previously licensed for substance use counseling in Kansas. Prior to the most recent 26 years of her career, she worked with individuals in residential treatment settings. Since 1995 she has provided outpatient services through community-based programs.

Rita has worked with individuals, couples, and families and has facilitated groups addressing both mental health and substance use concerns. While her experience spans children, teens, and adults, she currently focuses on adult clients, applying cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-informed principles, and a range of evidence-based techniques commonly regarded as best practices. When appropriate and with client approval, she invites members of a client’s support system to participate in the therapeutic process.

She approaches diagnosis as a tool to guide care while emphasizing that a person is not defined by a diagnosis, and she aims to blend symptom-focused interventions with life-skill development and practical tools. Rita’s work has addressed depression, anxiety, relationship and family difficulties, substance use and abuse, and both physical and emotional trauma.

Her therapeutic stance is warm and interactive, grounded in respect, compassion, sensitivity, and honesty. She places a high priority on building a trusting relationship that allows for candid discussion and respectful challenge toward agreed-upon goals. Treatment planning is collaborative, with initial efforts aimed at helping clients clarify the changes they want to make.

Rita welcomes contact from those ready to explore moving from “where I am now” to “where I want to be.” She recognizes that change can be both frightening and exciting, and she offers support so people do not have to face that journey alone.