About Deanna
Deanna MacDonald is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois who helps people manage anxiety, stress, depression, and related concerns. She has seven years of experience providing individual therapy and focuses on practical steps people can use every day. She uses a collaborative approach in sessions.
Deanna listens first, then works with each person to build a plan that fits their life. Her style is respectful and direct, with an emphasis on small, doable changes that add up over time.
Background and approach
Deanna commonly addresses mood disorders, panic and anxiety, obsessions and compulsions, and challenges with self-esteem and body image. She also supports people dealing with grief, trauma, addiction concerns, and relationship or communication problems. Sessions often include skill-building around coping, emotion regulation, and problem solving.
Therapy draws from several practical methods such as cognitive behavioral strategies, acceptance-based techniques, and skills training from dialectical behavior approaches. Motivational interviewing and solution-focused ideas guide goal setting and keep work forward-moving. The focus is on what helps a person feel better and function more effectively day to day.
Deanna works with people to set clear, measurable goals and adjusts the plan as progress is made. She aims to make therapy straightforward and useful so people can try tools between sessions. To begin, she asks for a short matching questionnaire and then schedules sessions based on availability.
How therapy approaches translate to online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice uncomfortable thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values. This approach can be useful for anxiety, worry, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and testing new behaviors to reduce symptoms and improve daily functioning; it often helps with panic, depression, and obsessive thoughts. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication, which can be helpful for strong mood swings and impulse challenges.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or has not helped before. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan as progress is made, keeping sessions collaborative and goal-oriented.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which make scheduling more flexible. Video is helpful for in-depth conversations and skill practice. Phone sessions can be simpler when bandwidth is limited or a brief check-in is needed. Live chat or text messaging can support quick check-ins, coaching between sessions, and ongoing reminders to use new skills. These options let people fit therapy into work days, caregiving routines, or other busy schedules.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Intimacy-related issues
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 7 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
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