About Ramona
Ramona Zarate is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, grief, and relationship strain. She speaks plainly and focuses on practical steps so clients can feel steadier day to day. Her style aims to meet people where they are and build on their strengths.
Ramona trained in psychology and community counseling at Marquette University, earning both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Community Counseling with a focus on substance use and co-occurring concerns.
Background and approach
Over more than a decade she has worked in community mental health settings and hospitals. That experience includes coordinating care with physicians and case management roles that linked people to the services they needed. In practice she uses a client-centered approach that prioritizes each person’s goals and priorities.
Mindfulness techniques are woven into sessions to help manage worry and panic symptoms. Motivational interviewing supports people who are struggling with change related to substance use or other habits. Ramona tends to take a strengths-based view.
She works on clear, achievable steps rather than jargon. Communication skills, forgiveness work, and handling guilt and shame are common themes in her sessions. She also helps people explore life purpose and self-love as part of recovery and growth.
She is based in Illinois and conducts sessions in English. Her background in both therapeutic and case management roles shapes a practical, coordinated approach to care.
Approaches that translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely and following each person’s goals. In practice this means sessions are led by what matters most to the client, and the therapist helps shape a plan that fits daily life. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple awareness and grounding skills to reduce anxious thoughts and lessen the intensity of panic symptoms; these exercises can be practiced in short moments throughout the day. Motivational interviewing helps people weigh options and find internal reasons to change, which is useful for addressing addictions or shifting habits that affect mood and relationships.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with the client about needs, goals, and preferences, and then try methods that feel like a good fit. Progress is tracked collaboratively and methods are adjusted as goals evolve.
Online formats offer flexibility for modern life. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction for deeper conversation and real-time teaching of mindfulness skills. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging work well for brief updates, reminders, or when writing out thoughts feels easier. These options make it simpler to fit therapy around work, caregiving, and busy schedules while using the same therapeutic approaches described above.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 11 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
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