Tamela Polanin greets readers in a warm, straightforward way and focuses on helping people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, or challenges in relationships and parenting.
01About Tamela
Tamela Polanin greets readers in a warm, straightforward way and focuses on helping people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, or challenges in relationships and parenting. She presents a calm, steady presence and aims to walk alongside clients as they work toward change. Tamela holds an IL LCPC and brings 20 years of experience to her practice in Illinois.
Tamela uses a client-centered lens that puts the person’s goals first.
Background and approach
Sessions aim to be practical and respectful, with space to talk through painful memories, figure out coping skills, and practice new ways of relating. She often blends evidence-based tools to fit each person’s needs rather than relying on a single method. Trauma work is a major focus.
Tamela uses EMDR and trauma-informed techniques to address traumatic memories and their effects on daily life. She also uses cognitive behavioral strategies to help change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, and dialectical skills to build emotional regulation when feelings feel intense.
People who turn to her may be managing grief, addiction, parenting strain, identity and attachment questions, or life changes such as divorce or career shifts. Tamela also supports concerns like ADHD, body image, codependency, and compassion fatigue. Her style is collaborative and paced to what each person can handle.
Outside of work she is a parent and raises registered pygmy goats, details she shares to show a down-to-earth side. Prospective clients in Illinois and beyond can expect straightforward guidance, a focus on practical tools, and steady support while they work toward healthier patterns.
02Credentials
- LCPC (Illinois)
- License 180.012372 · expires March 2027
- NPI
- 1982255592 · 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 Tamela lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- 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
Methods Tamela names
- 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
These are the methods Tamela 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
Approaches for trauma and emotion regulation online
Client-centered therapy emphasizes the client’s own goals and experience. Sessions focus on listening, reflecting, and helping people make choices that fit their values and needs. This approach is useful for items like parenting stress, relationship questions, or life changes where personal goals guide the work.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps identify thinking and behavior patterns that keep problems in place and introduces clear, doable steps to change them. CBT can help with anxiety, depression, and coping skills for everyday stress. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is used to address disturbing memories and reduce their emotional impact by working with memory processing in structured sessions; it is commonly used for trauma-related symptoms.
Deciding which approach to use is a shared process. Tamela will talk with a person about goals, past experiences, and how they respond to different strategies. Together they adjust methods over time, trying concrete techniques and tracking what helps most.
Online therapy offers flexibility in how people connect. Video calls let therapists and clients work face to face when a visual connection helps. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging allow brief, written check-ins and skill practice between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, school, or caregiving schedules while using the approaches described above.
05Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does Tamela help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, depression, addictions, grief, parenting and relationship challenges, among other concerns listed in her specialties.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is client-centered and collaborative, combining practical tools with trauma-focused work to help people manage emotions and improve daily functioning.
What background does she bring to therapy?
Tamela has 20 years of experience in mental health and a long-standing interest in trauma work drawn from both professional and personal experience.
What credentials and location are listed?
She holds an IL LCPC and practices in Illinois.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English and international clients are accepted.
What session formats does she use?
Therapy is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging.
How is cost handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and scheduling according to therapist availability.
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