About Tara
Tara Whitecotton is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and big life changes. She focuses on practical skills like coping, communication, and building emotional strength so daily life feels more manageable. Tara uses straightforward, conversational sessions where the person’s priorities guide the work.
She listens for what matters most and helps develop simple steps to move forward. Conversations often focus on habits, thinking patterns, and choices that get in the way of feeling better.
How Tara works
Her background includes three years practicing as an LCSW in Illinois. During that time she has worked with a broad range of concerns, from workplace stress and career questions to trauma, relationship strain, and issues around parenting and caregiving. She also addresses topics like body image, chronic illness, and adoption or foster care histories.
Tara draws from approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, cognitive behavioral methods, mindfulness, and client-centered listening. She uses techniques that help people notice unhelpful thoughts, clarify values, and try small behavioral changes between sessions. Motivational interviewing is used when people want help deciding what change looks like for them.
Tara aims to make therapy feel like a practical collaboration. Sessions are paced to match each person's goals. The work focuses on what people can try now to reduce distress and strengthen daily routines.
Tara lists 7 ways of working on the entry:
What Tara works with
The areas below are the ones Tara selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Grief
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 3 |
| 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
Approaches that translate well to online work
Tara often uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people notice painful thoughts and commit to actions that match their values. ACT can be useful for anxiety, depression, grief, and life transitions because it focuses on what matters most rather than trying to eliminate every difficult feeling.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is another approach she uses to identify thinking patterns that fuel distress and to test small behavioral changes. CBT is practical and works well for stress, mood concerns, relationship difficulties, and some forms of trauma recovery.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Tara will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before, then tailor methods to fit. She checks in regularly to adjust the plan so sessions stay focused and useful.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect: video calls for face-to-face conversation, phone sessions when bandwidth is limited, live chat for quicker check-ins, and text-based messaging for shorter reflections between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, keep momentum between meetings, and choose the format that feels most comfortable for the person seeking help.
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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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