Joan French

Joan French is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with 17 years of practice. She focuses on helping adults who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship struggles, grief, and questions about gender or sexual identity. Joan aims to make it easier for people to feel heard and connected again.

She works in a calm, nonjudgmental way and tries to create a trusting space where people can say hard things. Her approach is trauma-informed and often blends practical strategies with empathetic listening. Joan uses a mix of techniques so sessions fit each person's needs rather than a single fixed method.

Joan draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and client-centered methods to help people manage emotions and change patterns that aren’t helping. She also brings in art-based tools and communication skill work when those methods seem useful. Humor is sometimes part of the work to ease tension and build connection.

She supports adults navigating attachment and abandonment wounds, codependency, communication problems, control issues, divorce and separation, family of origin concerns, guilt and shame, isolation, and workplace or life transitions. Joan also works with people facing sleeping problems, career stress, and other day-to-day coping challenges.

Joan lives and practices in Illinois. Her practice welcomes people who identify as LGBTQIA2S+ or who are exploring gender and identity questions. She describes herself as patient, resourceful, and creative and aims to be a steady partner in each person’s healing process.

How Joan’s approaches translate to online work

Trauma-Focused Therapy helps people process and reduce the hold of past hurt by providing focused strategies to work through difficult memories and reactions. It aims to restore a sense of safety and control and can help with symptoms of trauma and abuse.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, teaches practical skills for noticing thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, and then taking steps that match personal values. It is often helpful for anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Client-Centered Therapy centers the person’s experience and uses empathic listening and genuine presence to help someone feel heard and understood.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Joan works collaboratively to identify which methods fit a person’s goals, needs, and preferences. She may combine techniques from different approaches and will discuss options so the client can weigh what feels most helpful.

Confirm current session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. It can also let someone use a video or phone session when that better fits their comfort, bandwidth, or schedule. Many clients find these practical benefits help them stay consistent with their work between sessions.