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MP Portrait of Michele Petersmark

Michele Petersmark

Practical, compassionate therapy with CBT foundations

LCPC Illinois

Experience
20 years in practice
Focus areas
Stress, Anxiety, Relationship, Self esteem
Approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
Languages
English
Continue with Michele

About Michele

Michele Petersmark provides compassionate, individualized care grounded in cognitive behavioral principles and client-centered values. With 20 years of professional experience as an Illinois LCPC, she focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and challenges with self-esteem and motivation.

Background and approach

Michele adapts treatment conversations and plans to reflect each person’s circumstances and preferences, emphasizing respect and sensitivity throughout the therapeutic process. Her work also addresses relationship concerns, parenting and family problems, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, eating and sleeping difficulties, career and life-purpose questions, and mood-related conditions including bipolar and panic symptoms.

Michele draws on a mix of approaches such as CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and solution-focused techniques to support coping with life transitions, impulsivity, fertility and aging concerns, and complex emotional reactions like guilt, shame, jealousy, or isolation. Clients seeking practical tools and collaborative problem solving will find a clinician who combines evidence-informed strategies with a warm, tailored approach.

Michele accepts international clients and offers multiple online session formats to make participation feasible for different schedules and locations.

Therapeutic Approaches Tailored for Online Care



Michele often uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help clients identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop concrete strategies for managing symptoms like anxiety, panic, low mood, or difficulties with motivation. She also integrates client-centered principles that prioritize the person’s perspective, creating a collaborative, respectful space where concerns can be explored and goals clarified. When emotional regulation and distress tolerance are central, she draws on dialectical behavior therapy skills to teach grounding, mindfulness, and coping techniques that can be practiced between sessions.

Choosing the right approach is a joint process. Michele works with each client to determine which combination of methods best fits their goals, preferences, and life circumstances, adjusting plans as progress is made and needs change. This collaborative stance helps ensure therapy remains practical and relevant.

Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, making it easier to fit sessions into busy schedules or when travel is difficult. These formats support consistent check-ins, skills practice, and real-time problem solving so clients can apply new strategies in daily life while working with a licensed professional.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Michele commonly address?
Her practice covers stress, anxiety, depression, self-esteem and motivation issues as well as relationship and family problems, trauma and grief, intimacy-related matters, and many mood-related or life transition concerns.
What therapeutic style can I expect in sessions?
The approach blends client-centered listening with cognitive behavioral techniques, DBT skills, mindfulness, and solution-focused strategies to create practical, person-focused plans.
How much clinical experience does she have?
Michele brings 20 years of professional experience working with a broad range of emotional and life concerns.
What are her credentials and where is she licensed?
She is an LCPC licensed in Illinois with license number IL LCPC 180.004990 and practices from that jurisdiction.
Can someone outside the United States work with her?
Yes, she accepts international clients and is able to provide services across borders according to applicable regulations.
Which session formats are available for online work?
Sessions can be conducted via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to accommodate different needs and preferences.
How are fees and subscriptions handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin therapy?
To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Stress, AnxietyRelationship issuesSelf esteemDepressionCoping with life changes

Also works with

Family conflictsTrauma and abuseGriefIntimacy-related issuesEating disordersSleeping disordersParenting issuesCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderCoachingCompassion fatigueADHD

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAging and geriatric issuesFamily problemsFertility issuesGuilt and shameImpulsivityInfidelityIsolation / lonelinessJealousyLife purposeMoney and financial issuesMood disordersPanic disorder and panic attacksPersonality disordersPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSocial anxiety and phobiaWomen's issuesWorkplace issues

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Mindfulness TherapySolution-Focused Therapy

Experience

20+ years

Licensed

Illinois

Languages

English