Julie Ekman , LCSW

Julie Ekman is a licensed clinical social worker with 29 years of social work experience based in Illinois. She brings a practical, down-to-earth approach to sessions and focuses on women's issues alongside stress, anxiety, family concerns, self-esteem, career matters, and coping with life changes. She aims to help people find clearer paths through worry and transition.

Julie draws on a holistic, client-centered way of working. She emphasizes strengths-based and solution-focused methods to help clients identify what is already working. She also uses cognitive behavioral techniques to notice and change unhelpful thinking patterns that feed anxiety or low confidence.

Her background includes many years as a school social worker and experience providing family therapy. That experience shaped her skill at helping people manage communication problems, control issues, and relationship strains that affect daily life. She often supports people dealing with divorce, separation, or midlife transitions.

Julie also works with concerns such as chronic pain, illness, and disability, along with issues like guilt, shame, isolation, and difficulty finding life purpose. Sessions focus on practical steps, from improving communication to building routines that support emotional and physical well-being.

She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver and a Master of Arts in School Leadership from Concordia University, and she practices as an Illinois LCSW. Her style is compassionate and direct, aiming to help people make changes that matter in everyday life.

Evidence-based approaches for online support

Julie commonly uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and test them against reality. This approach is useful for anxiety, panic, negative self-talk, and building confidence. She also applies strengths-based work that highlights personal resources and past successes to build motivation and practical steps toward goals.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about their needs and goals, try methods that fit those priorities, and adjust the plan based on what helps. Together they decide which tools and exercises to use between sessions to make steady progress.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which allow flexibility for different schedules. Video calls let people read facial cues and hold deeper conversations, while phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or when a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging are helpful for brief updates, tracking moods, or keeping momentum between sessions. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and maintain continuity of care.