Tamela Polanin , LCPC

Tamela Polanin is a licensed clinical professional counselor who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and parenting challenges. She brings two decades of mental health experience and a practical, down-to-earth approach to sessions. Tamela is based in Illinois and conducts work in English, including with international clients when arrangements allow.

Tamela emphasizes a client-centered style that puts the person's goals first. She listens closely, helps people name what matters, and supports steps toward change. Her work often focuses on trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy concerns, relationship and communication problems, and issues around self-esteem and life transitions.

She uses several methods to meet different needs, including cognitive behavioral tools to change unhelpful thinking and dialectical behavior strategies for emotion regulation. Tamela also integrates emotionally-focused ideas for relationship and attachment issues and uses EMDR when it is appropriate for trauma processing.

Her background includes 20 years in the mental health field and the Illinois LCPC credential. That experience informs practical, paced care that balances symptom relief with building skills for daily life. Tamela describes therapy as a partnership where the client guides the work and she offers structure and options.

Outside of clinical work she is a parent and lives rurally, which shapes her straightforward, compassionate style. People who prefer clear steps, steady support, and an emphasis on healing from trauma may find her approach matches their needs.

How Tamela’s Approaches Translate to Online Care

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on the client's priorities and perspective. In practice this means sessions start with what matters most to the person and move at their pace, which works well online when people need a gentle, paced process. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors through concrete exercises and homework; it is easy to adapt to video or phone sessions and supports measurable progress.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals and try methods that fit personal needs and preferences. Decisions about using CBT, DBT skills, EFT ideas, or EMDR are collaborative and based on what seems most helpful for the person's symptoms and life situation.

Online sessions offer flexibility and practical benefits. Video calls let therapists and clients work face-to-face without travel. Phone sessions require less bandwidth and can be a good option when a camera is not preferred. Live chat or text-based messaging can support shorter check-ins, ongoing coaching, or immediate skill reminders between longer sessions. These formats make care more accessible for people balancing work, parenting, or long distances.