- Years in practice
- 20
- Credentials
- LCPC
- Licensed in
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Family conflicts
About Tamela
Tamela Polanin is a licensed clinical professional counselor with 20 years in mental health. She greets parents and individuals with a warm, down-to-earth style and practical focus. Tamela presents herself as a companion on the healing path rather than an authority figure.
She aims to help people manage parenting stress, relationship struggles, anxiety, grief, trauma, and life transitions. Tamela uses a client-centered stance that keeps the person's goals front and center.
Background and approach
She also draws on cognitive behavioral ideas to change unhelpful thinking and dialectical behavior ideas to build emotion regulation and coping skills. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is part of her trauma work when appropriate. Sessions tend to be straightforward and conversational.
Parents can expect help with everyday challenges such as managing anger, improving communication, addressing attachment or blended family issues, and coping with adoption or fatherhood concerns. Tamela also supports people facing substance concerns, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and compassion fatigue. Her approach balances practical skill-building with attention to feelings.
She focuses on what a person wants to change and offers tools to get there. Tamela encourages small, steady steps and checks in about progress along the way. Based in Illinois, she offers a calm, relatable presence and respects the rhythms of family life.
People who want a therapist who listens first and works collaboratively may find her approach useful.
What Tamela works with
Everything Tamela lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Tamela helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Addictions
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dependent personality
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Tamela lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Approaches that translate well to online therapy
Client-centered therapy focuses on understanding a person's goals and experiences and meeting them where they are. It helps people who want a collaborative, listening-focused space to process parenting stress, relationship struggles, and life changes.Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, behaviors, and feelings interact. Online CBT often uses short exercises and practical homework to reduce anxiety, manage mood, and change unhelpful habits.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, EMDR, is a trauma-focused approach that can be adapted for remote delivery when appropriate. It aims to reduce the intensity of traumatic memories and related triggers through structured processing.
Together, these approaches give a mix of listening, skill-building, and trauma care. The therapist will work with the client to decide which methods fit best. That decision is collaborative and based on a person’s goals, comfort level, and the issues they bring.
Online sessions offer practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction and visual cues for deeper work. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be easier on busy days. Live chat and text-based messaging support quick check-ins, brief coaching, or pacing between longer sessions. These options help clients fit therapy into family schedules and day-to-day life.
Questions people ask about Tamela
What kinds of concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, parenting concerns, relationship and communication problems, addictions, grief, anger, self-esteem, and related issues.
What is her therapeutic style like?
The style is client-centered and collaborative, with an emphasis on practical skills from CBT and DBT and trauma-focused techniques when needed.
How much experience does she have?
She has 20 years of experience in mental health and has focused much of her work on trauma and recovery.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds an IL LCPC credential and practices from Illinois.
Are sessions available in other languages or internationally?
Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients.
Which session formats are offered?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to suit different needs and schedules.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What should I do to begin working with her?
To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.
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