Essence Lee is a licensed counselor practicing in Illinois with ten years of experience.
01About Essence
Essence Lee is a licensed counselor practicing in Illinois with ten years of experience. She focuses on helping people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, and major life changes. She also supports people coping with grief, bipolar mood concerns, and compassion fatigue.
Essence centers sessions on each person's strengths and lived experience. She treats clients as the experts on their own stories and works alongside them to set realistic goals.
Background and approach
The tone in her work is encouraging and straightforward, with an emphasis on practical steps people can try between sessions. Her sessions draw on cognitive behavioral therapy, which looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and mindfulness-based techniques that build present-moment awareness. Together these approaches aim to reduce unhelpful thinking patterns and increase calm, focus, and self-compassion.
People often come to her for help with relationship and commitment concerns, communication problems, feelings of emptiness, guilt and shame, and family-related stress. She also addresses issues tied to prejudice and discrimination and supports women facing gender-related challenges. If someone is new to therapy, she offers simple steps to get started and helps clients match therapeutic tasks to their daily routines.
Sessions can include skill practice, gentle reality testing of unhelpful thoughts, and short mindfulness exercises to try between appointments.
02Credentials
- LCPC (Illinois)
- License 180011794 · expires March 2027
- NPI
- 1205301660 · national provider identifier
Both are public records. A state board register will confirm a license and its standing, and the national registry will confirm an NPI. This directory copies what the counselor lists and checks neither.
03Focus areas and approaches
Everything Essence lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Grief
- Bipolar disorder
- Compassion fatigue
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Mood disorders
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self-love
- Women's issues
Methods Essence names
These are the methods Essence names on their own professional profile. Naming an approach is not evidence of training or certification in it, and this directory checks no training records. Ask directly if it matters to you.
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04Online support
How CBT and Mindfulness Translate to Online Care
Essence uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thoughts and habits. CBT involves identifying specific thoughts that feed anxiety or low mood and testing them with practical experiments and small behavior changes. This approach can help with stress, anxiety, depression, and mood swings.She also uses mindfulness therapy, which teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and build emotional tolerance. Mindfulness work often includes short exercises you can practice daily to increase calm and self-awareness, which supports coping with grief, emptiness, and compassion fatigue.
Choosing the right approach happens together. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals and preferences, then try methods that fit their life. If something feels off, adjustments are made so the work stays useful and manageable.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a quick check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging make it easier to fit brief exchanges or homework check-ins during a busy day. These options give flexibility for people balancing work, family, and other demands while keeping therapeutic work consistent.
05Questions people ask
What concerns does she commonly help with?
She helps people facing stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, grief, bipolar mood concerns, and compassion fatigue, along with related issues like commitment and communication problems.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is collaborative and down-to-earth. She uses practical exercises, thought work from cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness practices to build skills people can use between sessions.
What is her background and experience?
She has ten years of professional experience working with mood and stress-related concerns and helping people adapt to life changes.
What credentials and location are listed?
She holds an IL LCPC credential and practices in Illinois.
Which languages are used in sessions and are international clients supported?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not currently accepting international clients.
What session formats are available?
Sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different scheduling needs.
How does cost and billing work?
Cost varies by location and therapist availability. Sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.
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