Michele Petersmark, LCPC

Michele Petersmark is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) in Illinois with 20 years of experience. She focuses on clear, practical support for people dealing with stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, and relationship concerns. Michele speaks plainly and meets people where they are. She emphasizes respect, sensitivity, and compassion in sessions.

Her work draws on cognitive behavioral therapy, which looks at how thoughts and actions affect feelings. She also uses client-centered methods that follow each person’s pace and priorities. Dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness strategies can help with emotion regulation and staying present during difficult moments.

Michele helps people manage life transitions, grief, trauma and abuse, and intimate relationship struggles. She also supports those dealing with sleep and eating problems, parenting challenges, career stress, and burnout such as compassion fatigue. Additional areas of focus include ADHD, mood disorders, panic, and issues around infidelity or abandonment.

Over two decades she has adapted practical tools to everyday life. Many conversations include skill practice, problem-solving, and short-term goal setting. The aim is workable change you can use between sessions.

Sessions are offered in English and Michele accepts international clients. She tailors the approach to fit each person’s situation and helps people decide which strategies to try first.

Practical approaches for online therapy

Many sessions use cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing small changes in behavior. CBT is often used for anxiety, depression, panic, and sleep or eating issues because it targets patterns that keep problems going.

Client-centered therapy is another core approach. It emphasizes listening, empathy, and following each person's goals so the conversation stays relevant and comfortable. Dialectical behavior therapy techniques may be added to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills when strong emotions are a concern.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they decide which strategies to try and adjust plans as progress is made.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited, live chat offers a quick check-in, and text messaging supports short updates or ongoing coaching between meetings. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, family, and travel schedules.