Joni Spohn, LCSW

Joni Spohn is a licensed clinical social worker with 34 years of experience in mental health care. She practices in Illinois and brings steady, practical support to people facing stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship challenges. Joni uses clear, direct methods and often gives short exercises to try between meetings. Her background includes work inside and outside hospital settings, which shaped a flexible approach to common problems. She helps people who are dealing with trauma and abuse, grief, addiction, and struggles with self-esteem and intimacy. She also supports clients handling blended family issues, caregiving and aging concerns, and recovery from infidelity. Joni draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and change behaviors that keep problems going. She also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to build values-based action, and Attachment-Based ideas to strengthen how people relate to others. Client-centered listening forms the basis of her work so people feel heard as they make changes. Sessions mix talk and practical tasks. Homework may be assigned and sometimes is done during the session to practice new skills right away. This hands-on style is aimed at making progress between appointments, not only during them. Her overall style is supportive and down-to-earth. Joni helps people break big problems into manageable steps and find realistic ways to feel better and reconnect with what matters.

Approaches that guide online sessions

Joni often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and change behaviors that maintain problems. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, and patterns that get in the way of daily life. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is another approach she uses to help people clarify values and take committed action even when uncomfortable feelings are present; this is helpful for stress, avoidance, and chronic worry. Attachment-Based ideas are also woven in to improve how people relate and communicate with others, which can be useful for relationship and intimacy issues.

Choosing the right approach is collaborative. The therapist will listen to a person's goals, try different techniques if needed, and adjust the plan over time. Clients and the therapist work together to see what helps most in real life rather than sticking to a single method from the start.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is good for a full conversation and visual cues, phone can fit a short check-in or lower bandwidth, live chat works for quick exchanges or when typing feels easier, and text messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to continue work on skills between meetings.