- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Mindfulness techniques
About Michele
Michele Petersmark is an Illinois Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with 20 years of professional experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, low self-esteem, depression, and life changes. Michele also addresses issues like trauma, grief, parenting strain, attention difficulties, and career questions, including a focus on life purpose.
Her approach starts with listening and building a practical plan together. Michele uses client-centered methods to prioritize the person’s own goals. She also draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to identify and change unhelpful thoughts, and on solution-focused work to set short-term, achievable steps.
Sessions often include mindfulness practices to manage strong emotions and dialectical behavior ideas to handle intense reactions. Michele talks with clients about patterns that cause distress and tries to break those patterns with concrete skills and small experiments. She pays attention to how stress, sleep, and eating affect mood and coping.
Over two decades she has helped people navigate both sudden and slow life changes, including grief, fertility stress, and challenges tied to aging or family problems. Michele combines practical skills with steady conversation so clients can practice new ways of handling old problems.
To begin, prospective clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session. Costs vary with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How Michele’s approaches translate to online work
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following the client’s goals. Online sessions using this approach keep the person’s priorities central and shape conversations around what matters most to them.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions. In online sessions CBT can include practical homework and short experiments to test new ways of thinking and behaving for anxiety, depression, or panic symptoms.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers skills for managing intense emotions and improving distress tolerance. Delivered remotely, the skills work can include guided breathing, behavioral exercises, and step-by-step plans to handle strong reactions.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Michele will collaborate with each client to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That choice can shift as progress is made, and she checks in regularly about what is helping.
The biography does not specify session formats, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit counseling into a busy day, allow for shorter check-in meetings when needed, and remove commuting time. Many people find remote work helps them practice skills in everyday situations while keeping scheduling flexible.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
20+ years
Listed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, self-esteem, and coping with life changes. Additional focus areas include trauma, grief, parenting, ADHD, and life purpose.
How would she describe her therapeutic style?
She uses a client-centered approach that follows the client’s goals. She also integrates CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and solution-focused techniques for practical skill building.
How much experience does she have?
She has 20 years of professional work experience in counseling and related clinical settings.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is an Illinois Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) and practices from Illinois.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are accepted.
What session formats are available?
The original biography does not list specific session formats. Please confirm current session options before booking.
How much do sessions cost?
Costs vary with location. Sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the crisis numbers.