About Nicole
Nicole Kough is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with about 15 years in the field. She practices in Illinois and focuses on helping people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, grief, and life transitions. Her manner is warm and nonjudgmental, and she aims to make the first steps feel simple and manageable.
Nicole listens first and then works with each person to build a plan that fits their life.
Background and approach
She often uses cognitive behavioral strategies to notice and change unhelpful thinking patterns. She also uses solution-focused ideas to set clear, practical next steps that people can try between sessions. Her experience includes working with issues such as panic attacks, social anxiety, self-esteem concerns, intimacy questions, anger, and trauma and abuse.
She also helps people navigate blended family challenges, communication problems, control issues, divorce and separation, guilt and shame, and career stress. The focus is on what is getting in the way of feeling better and what small changes could help. Sessions are adapted to what each person needs.
Nicole brings patience and compassion and aims to create straightforward goals. She explains concepts in everyday language and checks in often to see what is working. People who prefer a practical, listening-centered approach tend to fit well with her style.
The work is collaborative - she brings tools and guidance while people bring their experience and priorities.
How Nicole’s Approaches Translate to Online Care
Client-Centered Therapy puts the person's perspective at the center of sessions and focuses on listening, empathy, and understanding what matters most. This approach helps when someone needs a supportive space to talk through feelings like grief, anxiety, or relationship strain.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect. It teaches clear tools to identify unhelpful thinking and try different actions, which is useful for anxiety, panic, and low mood.
Navigating the best approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals and preferences and then suggest a mix of methods. Together they check what helps and adjust the plan as needed so the work stays practical and relevant.
Online sessions offer flexibility that can make it easier to keep up with therapy. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports quick check-ins, and text-based messaging can be useful for shorter reflections between meetings. These options let people fit care around work, family, and daily life while using the therapeutic approaches above to address anxiety and related concerns.
Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does Nicole address?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much experience does she have?
What are her credentials and where is she located?
In what language are sessions offered?
Which session formats are available?
How much do sessions cost?
What are the first steps to begin?
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
Also listed
- Anger management
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.