About Gillian
Gillian Van Dien, LPC, offers practical support for people dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship concerns. She writes short-term and longer-term plans with each person. Sessions focus on what is happening now and what can change next.
She emphasizes self-compassion and clearer communication as starting points for healing. Gillian uses straightforward strategies to help people break unhelpful patterns. She draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to change stressful thinking.
She also uses acceptance and commitment ideas to help people clarify values and take small steps toward them.
Background and approach
Attachment-informed work looks at how early relationship patterns affect current connections. Her style is collaborative and down-to-earth. Conversations are paced to match what a person can manage, with skills and reflection offered in each session.
The goal is better coping, steadier mood, and improved relationships rather than quick fixes. Gillian has 17 years of experience practicing in Wisconsin as a licensed professional counselor. She blends client-centered listening with structured exercises when useful.
That combination aims to give both understanding and practical tools. Typical issues she addresses include trauma and abuse, self-esteem, grief, intimacy-related concerns, eating and body image struggles, parenting stress, anger, career worries, chronic health challenges, and compassion fatigue. Work often includes learning new communication habits, setting boundaries, and managing anxiety so life can feel more manageable.
People looking for therapy can expect a steady, respectful process that balances emotional exploration with concrete steps. Gillian helps identify small changes that add up to real improvement over time.
Therapeutic approaches that translate well to online care
Gillian commonly uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, and Client-Centered Therapy in her work. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice painful thoughts and feelings without getting stuck, then choose actions that match their values to move forward. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns of relating that formed early on and helps people build safer, more satisfying connections in current relationships. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a nonjudgmental, listening stance so people feel understood as they figure out next steps.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals, past experiences, and daily routines to decide which methods to try first. Plans are adjusted over time based on what helps most and what fits a person's preferences.
Online sessions offer flexibility and practical options. Video calls let people work face-to-face from wherever they are, phone sessions can fit into a short break or require less bandwidth, and live chat or text-based messaging support brief check-ins or ongoing reflection between appointments. These formats make it easier to schedule consistent work on anxiety, communication, grief, and life changes while balancing school, work, or caregiving responsibilities.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 17 years
- Licensed
- Wisconsin
- Languages
- English
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