Shelley Hill , LCSW

Shelley Hill is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, trauma, grief, depression, relationship and intimacy concerns, and issues around self-esteem and addiction. She works with clients who face life changes, caregiving strain, chronic illness, and concerns common in LGBT communities. Shelley offers a calm, steady presence and a mix of supportive and practical guidance.

Shelley often combines talking with body-centered and mindfulness practices so change can feel both understood and embodied. She believes many feelings come from beneath conscious thought, so sessions may include techniques that address that deeper level alongside clear, goal-focused steps. That means clients often get both insight and tools to try between appointments.

Her style balances compassion and directness. She aims to listen, reflect back what she hears, and offer concrete strategies when helpful. Humor and warmth are part of how she builds trust and keeps work real.

Shelley has worked with a wide range of concerns including eating and sleeping problems, anger, abandonment and attachment issues, communication and commitment struggles, and effects of domestic violence or cancer. She also supports people coping with dissociation, co-morbidity, and long-term pain or disability.

Sessions can be structured or more open depending on what someone needs. Shelley values collaboration and helps people pick practical next steps they can try between sessions. She encourages those ready to make changes to take the first step and explore what might work for them.

Approaches you can try online

Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and help people notice thoughts and feelings without getting swept away. It can help with anxiety, stress, sleep problems, and managing strong emotions.

Somatic Therapy brings attention to physical sensations and movement to work with stored tension and trauma. It can be useful for people who notice their body holds stress, have trouble settling after upsetting events, or experience dissociation.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Shelley will collaborate with each person to identify which methods fit their goals and preferences. That might mean trying mindfulness exercises first, adding somatic techniques, or using short solution-focused steps to manage immediate problems.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction for exercises and cues, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be a quick check-in, and text messaging is useful for brief updates or reminders. These formats make it easier to fit sessions into a busy day, keep momentum between meetings, and access help from different locations within Illinois.