About Vicki
Vicki Marcum is a licensed clinical social worker with four decades of hands-on experience. She meets people where they are and starts by listening. Sessions are grounded in warmth and practical problem solving for concerns like anxiety, stress, grief, parenting struggles, and relationship or family tensions.
She uses a client-centered stance at first to build trust. Once a strong working relationship is in place, she adapts the work to what fits each person.
Background and approach
That can mean focusing on attachment patterns, changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, or exploring emotional bonds that shape relationships. Her background includes work across many settings in Illinois, from inpatient psychiatric care to outpatient community programs and school-based services. She has experience in crisis intervention, case management, and programs for people with chronic mental health needs.
That variety informs a flexible approach to common struggles like depression, trauma, and coping with life changes. Vicki draws on several therapy approaches to match a person's needs. She encourages clients to take the lead in their treatment while offering gentle challenge when beliefs or habits are getting in the way.
Sessions blend conversation, practical skills, and emotional work aimed at clearer thinking and stronger connections. People who see her can expect a straightforward, steady presence. She helps clients weigh options, practice new ways of responding, and find steps that fit their daily life.
The work can include tough moments but also relief, new insight, and renewed confidence.
Approach-focused care delivered online
Vicki often blends client-centered work with attachment-based ideas and cognitive behavioral techniques. Client-centered therapy means she follows the person's lead at first and prioritizes listening and understanding. Attachment-based work looks at how early bonds affect current relationships and helps people change patterns that cause repeated problems. Cognitive behavioral techniques focus on identifying unhelpful thoughts and practicing concrete skills to reduce anxiety and improve mood.Choosing the right mix of approaches is a joint process. She will talk with each person about their goals, symptoms, and preferences, then outline options and try methods that fit. Progress is measured by what the person notices improving in daily life, and plans are adjusted as needed.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility for busy schedules or when in-person meetings are difficult. Video calls let the therapist and client meet face to face for deeper conversation and emotional work. Phone sessions can work well when bandwidth is low or for brief check-ins. Live chat and text-based messaging provide short, timely ways to process thoughts between longer sessions. These options make it easier to keep continuity of care and practice new skills in real time.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 40 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
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