About Ramona
Ramona Zarate helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, and substance use find steadier footing. She meets each person where they are and focuses on practical steps to reduce worry and build better daily habits. Short-term goals and realistic plans are part of her approach so families can see change over weeks and months.
Ramona earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Marquette University and a Master of Arts in Community Counseling with a specialization in substance abuse and co-occurring disorders.
How Ramona works
She has 11 years of clinical experience working in community mental health and hospital settings in Illinois. That background shaped her skill helping people manage addiction, grief, panic, and overlapping conditions. In sessions she follows a client-centered style that centers the person's own goals and strengths.
She also uses mindfulness techniques to calm intense emotions and motivational interviewing to help people find the will to change addictive behaviors. These methods are used together to create clear, achievable steps. Ramona pays attention to communication problems, guilt and shame, and issues around forgiveness and self-love.
She helps clients explore life purpose and repair relationship patterns through practical conversation and homework between sessions. Her focus is on what people can do day to day to feel better. People working with Ramona can expect collaborative planning, straightforward talk, and a focus on small, measurable changes.
She offers services in English and practices in Illinois as an LCPC.
Ramona lists 3 ways of working on the entry:
What Ramona works with
The areas below are the ones Ramona selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
Training and background
| Register | LCPC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 11 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Illinois |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Working with client-centered and mindfulness approaches online
Client-centered therapy focuses on the person's own goals and strengths and asks the therapist to listen and reflect rather than lead. It helps when someone needs space to understand their feelings and make their own choices. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing techniques to reduce overwhelm and calm panic symptoms. These practices are useful for anxiety, grief, and stress. Motivational interviewing supports people who feel stuck about change by helping them weigh pros and cons and find personal reasons to act.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals and preferences during early sessions and try techniques that fit the person's needs. This is a collaborative process where adjustments are made as progress is reviewed.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls allow a fuller conversation similar to an in-person session. Phone sessions can work better when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging make it easier to fit brief reflections into a busy day. These options offer flexibility so people can choose what fits their schedule and comfort.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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