Lisa Whittingham

Lisa Whittingham is a licensed clinical professional counselor with 15 years of experience in Illinois. She focuses on helping people handle major life changes, strong emotions, and the fallout from difficult past experiences. Her style is warm and direct, with an emphasis on practical steps people can use every day.

In sessions she helps people untangle stress, anxiety, grief, and relationship problems. She also addresses trauma and abuse, parenting strains, intimacy worries, sleep and eating concerns, and self-esteem challenges. Lisa uses straightforward conversation and goal-focused work to make progress feel manageable.

Her background includes work across many kinds of life stressors, from workplace pressure to caregiving and chronic illness. She draws on methods that target thinking patterns, emotion regulation, and body-based responses to distress. Clients can expect clear tools to cope with overwhelming moments and stronger habits for everyday living.

Lisa incorporates trauma-focused therapy and approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy when they fit a person’s needs. She also uses EMDR and mindfulness techniques as part of recovery from painful memories and ongoing anxiety. Treatment is tailored to what the person wants to achieve.

Sessions are offered in English and Italian, and Lisa is open to working with international clients. To begin, readers can use the site Start Therapy button to complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule according to therapist availability.

How trauma-informed and skills-based approaches work online

Lisa blends trauma-focused therapy with cognitive behavioral techniques to help people process difficult memories and change unhelpful thinking. Trauma-focused work aims to reduce the power of painful memories and improve day-to-day functioning, while CBT helps identify and shift patterns of thought that feed anxiety or depression.

She also uses dialectical behavior therapy strategies to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication. DBT skills can be useful when emotions feel overwhelming or relationships are strained. Mindfulness elements are woven in to increase present-moment awareness and reduce rumination.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Lisa will work with each person to pick methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences, and she adjusts the plan as progress is made.

Please confirm available session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow brief check-ins when schedules are tight. Therapists can adapt exercises, skills practice, and trauma-focused interventions for remote sessions to keep momentum between meetings.