Marcelo Gonzalez, LCPC

Marcelo Gonzalez is a licensed clinical professional counselor in Illinois with ten years of experience. He focuses on practical help for common life struggles like anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, and career changes. Marcelo offers a calm, affirming presence that aims to make hard conversations easier to start.

He uses straightforward talk and active listening to help people find new ways to handle pressure and uncertainty. Sessions often include setting small, doable goals and practicing methods that can be used between meetings. He draws on approaches such as cognitive behavioral techniques and acceptance-based strategies to help people manage thoughts and feelings.

Marcelo pays attention to how identity and culture shape everyday experience. He supports people navigating issues related to sexual orientation, gender, immigration, and discrimination, and addresses related concerns like shame, guilt, and isolation. He also works with relationship arrangements outside traditional models, including polyamory and kink concerns, and assists with intimacy-related challenges.

Clients can expect a nonjudgmental, collaborative tone in sessions. Marcelo blends client-centered care with motivational interviewing to clarify values and find motivation for change. He aims to help people move from feeling stuck to taking small, concrete steps toward what matters to them.

Practical problems such as money stress, career transitions, and seasonal mood shifts are in scope alongside longer-term identity work. Marcelo offers multiple ways to meet, including video, phone, live chat, and text-based messaging, to fit different schedules and needs.

How Marcelo’s approaches translate to online therapy

Marcelo commonly blends cognitive behavioral techniques with acceptance and commitment ideas to help people manage thoughts and act on what matters. Cognitive behavioral methods focus on noticing unhelpful thoughts and testing them with practical experiments, which can reduce anxiety and improve daily routines. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy emphasizes clarifying values and taking small steps toward them, even when difficult feelings remain.

He also uses a client-centered stance that prioritizes listening and building trust. Finding the right mix of approaches is collaborative: the therapist will work with each person to see which methods fit their goals and preferences and will adjust work as needs evolve.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video allows face-to-face conversation and screen-sharing for worksheets, phone calls can be useful when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports short check-ins, and text messaging helps people stay connected between sessions. These options offer flexibility for different schedules and communication styles, making it easier to keep therapy consistent while balancing work, travel, or busy days.