About Tamela
Tamela Polanin is a licensed clinical professional counselor with 20 years of experience. She speaks directly to people feeling overwhelmed and offers steady, practical support. Her approach centers on listening, guiding, and helping clients make changes that matter in daily life.
Tamela draws on a client-centered framework that puts each person’s goals first. She combines that with trauma-focused tools when past events get in the way of living now. Sessions aim to build skills for managing anxiety, depression, stress, and relationship or parenting challenges.
How Tamela works
Her background includes work across a wide range of concerns, including grief, addiction, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and compassion fatigue. Tamela also addresses issues such as abandonment, attachment, body image, communication problems, and divorce or separation. She frames therapy as a practical process rather than only talk, with room for learning coping skills and making behavior changes.
People who choose Tamela can expect an empathic presence alongside clear, goal-oriented steps. She emphasizes collaboration and respects each person’s pace when processing trauma or life transitions. Her style blends emotional support with hands-on techniques so progress can show up outside sessions.
Tamela is based in Illinois and holds the LCPC credential, which stands for Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. She offers sessions that fit modern life, including video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging for flexibility.
Tamela lists 9 ways of working on the entry:
What Tamela works with
The areas below are the ones Tamela selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Training and background
| Register | LCPC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 20 |
| 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
How Tamela’s Approaches Work Online
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following each person’s lead. The therapist provides empathy and reflection so clients can identify goals and make choices that fit their life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks down unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and teaches practical tools to reduce anxiety and depression. This approach is often useful for stress, mood shifts, and coping with life changes. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR, helps when traumatic memories keep causing distress by using structured processing to reduce emotional intensity.Deciding which approach to use is collaborative. Tamela will talk with each person about their goals, past experiences, and what feels manageable. Together they will try methods that match those needs, adjusting over time when something isn’t working as hoped.
Online sessions offer practical benefits for people with busy schedules or limited travel options. Video calls let therapists use visual cues and exercises similar to in-person sessions, while phone sessions can fit a short check-in or work break. Live chat and text-based messaging make it easier to keep continuity between meetings and to process thoughts in writing. These formats make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into daily life.
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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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